The Sound of Lightning
by SuperLeaf
Summary: Laxus, defeated in his strive for power before the Fantasia parade, seeks refuge at a mage's bar not to far from his hometown. A bar he had previously frequented, he shocks (no pun intended) two of the workers -loud barmaid Artemis and her quieter, singer sister Lyla- with his new attitude.
1. The Strange Visit

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail (if I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfictions)**

 **Also, I don't know who owns/created the awesome picture of music note lightning, but if any of you guys know, please tell me and I'll credit them immediately.**

 **Enjoy the story!**

* * *

 _ **Part I**_

* * *

"Here you go." Artemis handed a broad-shouldered blond man a drink. "Might want to stay a while, my friend's supposed to sing soon." He grunted, taking a swig from the mug.

"Arty, could you help me for a sec?" Lyla was heaving a speaker over to the stage. "Some bozo decided to move the speaker for whatever reason. I gotta move it back, but, ya know…"

"You weakling," Artemis chortled, helping her friend move the large object.

"Thanks," Lyla said, moving on to the next task. Artemis wasn't sure if Lyla was being sarcastic or not.

 _Who moved all my stuff?_ Lyla thought, irritated. She grabbed the stand and mike (a cheap lacrima, cheesily named lacrimike) and dragged them over to the stage, plugging in the mike to the magic outlet and setting up the stand swiftly. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a flash of blond. _Him again?_

He actually didn't often come to the bar, but when he did, she had a chore of keeping the area calm. Drunk men don't know when to stop. Heck, they don't know when to stop when sober.

"Testing, one two three. Testing," Lyla spoke into the lacrimike, tapping it lightly. Artemis was working the sound, making sure everything ran smoothly, as per usual. A few people looked up, confused, while the regulars merely glanced her way before returning to their conversation, drink, or both. The lacrimike seemed to be working correctly, thank god.

"Okay, folks. Tonight I'll be singing with or without my guitar, any requests?" She popped open the guitar case in case she needed it.

"How 'bout that one about the girl?" A man shouted out. Lyla rolled her eyes, stepping up to the lacrimike again.

"Let's do something a little less generic, and… well, perverted," She laughed, a few of the more sober clients chuckling slightly as well.

"What about the one about the moon?" A woman with chestnut hair called out.

"Yeah, that one's good," Someone else agreed loudly.

"Okay, then I'll be singing Sacrificial Love," She grabbed her guitar and ran her fingers over the strings, strumming a few chords to make sure it was in tune. Turning her face slightly to the left of the lacrimike, away from where her voice would get picked up, she whispered, "Lasaigarriak melodia, soothing melody." Magic rushed through her body, and if anyone was paying any attention, they would have noticed the symbol of magic appear on the ground at her feet. She strummed the start of the song on her guitar. The notes filtered through the drinkers' ears, the magic soothing their thoughts and calming their tempers, should they appear.

"Once upon a crazy night, the moon whispered to me," She started, the notes falling from her lips easily. "I heard its kind voice loud and clear, telling me its story. The poor old moon had lived in pain, many years before. Dark and unknown, she was unfortunately poor.

"But then the shining light of the great big sun shone bright, stopping her from crying, each and every night. They longed to be together, every single day, but if the sun and moon were together, we wouldn't be here today.

"Oh, what a sacrificial love. With the sun and the moon trapped in their lovely cages above. Oh, what a sacrificial love. The sun dies every night for his one and only love." She continued the chorus beautifully, noticing the content looks on the faces of the clients. _Good_ , she thought. _Hopefully there won't be any incidents._

The song drew to an end with some clapping here and there. It was pretty late, so Lyla sang two more songs, one with her guitar and one without, before plopping down at the bar.

"It was an oddly easy night," She commented to Artemis, who was cleaning some mugs and glasses.

"Why oddly?"

"Huh?"

"Why was it oddly easy, not just easy?" Artemis rolled her eyes slightly, especially after Lyla coughed out "Nit-picky."

"Err, I dunno." Lyla glanced at the big man two stools down, who was still silently taking in his drink. Artemis followed her friend's gaze before smirking knowingly.

"You know, Lyla, when was the last time you had a boyfriend?" She slyly shifted slightly in the man's direction.

"Oh heavens, not this again," Lyla groaned. "At least get me a drink before I have to listen to your romantic rambling."

"One Carpenter, coming up." Artemis started making the drink, but she wasn't going to let the vocally-gifted girl off the hook.

"He's kinda quiet, you should make sure he's okay," Artemis gestured to the man with her head. The bar was emptying, but he showed no signs of moving.

"No."

"You're no fun." Artemis slid the drink in front of the light-haired girl while jutting out her bottom lip.

"Well, if you're so worried, then why don't you talk to him?" Lyla shot back, bringing the drink to her lips. She wasn't a heavy drinker, in fact, she was a bit of a lightweight. She was also a minor, at the age of seventeen, but nobody could tell with her taller frame and mature face.

"Fine. Oi, blondie!" Art called out. Lyla went rigid, sitting ramrod straight. She didn't think Artemis would actually do it! "My friend said she has the hots for you but is too embarrassed to say so," Artemis' lips stretched into a smirk. Lyla's eyes flew wide open and her cheeks grew hot.

"What?" His deep voice reached her ears, and she subconsciously sighed.

"My friend thinks you're hot," Artemis said bluntly. Lyla let her head fall onto the counter with a slight bang, groaning in embarrassment.

"Does she now?" She heard him shift in his seat, and she turned her head so her cheek lay on the counter. He was turned towards the singer with a smirk on his face. Lyla's face grew bright red. Again.

"I did not!" She protested. Her cheek was still smushed against the countertop, a sight the man seemed to find amusing.

"Aw, she's getting all embarrassed," Artemis cooed. Lyla shot her friend a death glare, shifting so her chin was on the counter and she was staring up at the girl.

The man started speaking with an amused tone, causing the two girls to turn back towards him, Lyla, still laying on the counter. "You gonna stay on the counter all night?" Lyla shot upright, her face resuming the red tomato look she had been having most of the conversation.

"Singers have a natural connection to counters, didn't ya know?" Artemis teased, cleaning a few mugs. She was laying it on thick, so thick, Lyla was sure this was some sort of revenge for something.

"You know what?" Lyla threw up her hands in exasperation. "I'm going up." She grabbed her purse and started stalking away.

"You sure you don't want blondie here to join you?" Artemis had a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Lay off!" Lyla called over her shoulder.

"Hey, I never did get your name?" The man's voice reached her ears and she paused at the door, hand on the doorknob.

"It's Lyla," She responded, turning the knob slightly. "And yours?" She turned her head towards the bar, staring at the blond man. _I wonder where he got that scar?_

"Laxus," His mouth grew into a small grin. Artemis watched the whole exchange with a mysterious smirk on her face that disappeared only when her best friend vanished behind the door.

"Hey wait! You can't leave me with cleanup!" She shouted after her traitorous friend. "OI!" Laxus laughed slightly as the redhead grumbled something under her breath about betrayal and a new friend. She glanced at Laxus. "I don't suppose you-" She barely got to the end of her sentence before Laxus stood up. "I'm out."

The door shut with the bell still tinkling mockingly, and Artemis was left alone in the silent bar.

* * *

"I will get you for that!" Artemis glared at her so-called friend. "I had to clean everything up!"

"Well, you deserved a metaphorical slap, Arty. People don't just lie about their friends to strangers!" Lyla was stretched out on their couch, munching on chips and watching the lacrima tele. The current news story was about Fairy Tail, yet again. This time, however, it was good things, as it went over the Fantasia parade. It brushed on the random fights that had broken out beforehand among the mages belonging to the guild, and the strange floating bulbs filled with a single lightning bolt each, but the story was mostly about the amazing parade.

"Well, I hope you at least cooked dinner," She grumbled, taking off her shoes.

"I thought we agreed to call it Brinner," Lyla commented, throwing another chip in her mouth.

"Brupper," Artemis corrected, opening one of their cabinets. "And?"

"It's in the oven." Lyla's gaze was glued to the screen, narrowing her eyes. That was the master of Fairy Tail, right? He was awfully short.

"Spaghetti?" Artemis turned to her friend. "Really?"

"I just heated it up, stupid. Do something yourself if you want something gourmet." Lyla sat up, leaning towards the television. "Artemis-"

"What is so interesting on that lacrima?" She snorted as she saw Lyla's fast a mere foot from the screen.

"The master looks familiar," She said. The image switched to a water mage and an ice mage, sending the singer reeling backwards in surprise.

"Of course he does, he's the master of _Fairy Tail_ , the most popular guild in Fiore! They're legendary for destroying things!" She cackled. "If I were a mage, that's where I'd go!"

"You sound like a witch, Arty." Lyla plopped back down on the couch, continuing to eat her chips.

"And you are a witch," She commented, sitting down on the other side of the couch with a bowl of spaghetti in hand.

"Mage," Lyla corrected instantly.

"Yeah, yeah," Artemis turned off the lacrima television, turning towards her couch potato of a friend. "Don't forget, you have first shift. You should probably get some sleep."

Lyla heaved a breath, lunging to her feet. Artemis called after her retreating figure: "Don't forget! Set your alarm for-"

"Yeah yeah, eight o'clock," Lyla yawned, staring at the clock that read _3:08_ in big blue numbers. She collapsed into her bed after stripping and throwing on her pj's. She stared out the window at the glowing crescent moon before drifting off into a deep sleep.

* * *

The next day, Lyla was standing at the bar, trying not to fall asleep. This bar closed at three a.m. and opened at eight thirty a.m., an exhausting cycle for Artemis and Lyla. Fortunately and unfortunately, Charlie, the owner of the bar and the unofficial adoptive father of the two girls, had them working full time the first two days of the week. The next two work days they had free, then they had to work late shift on Friday and Saturday. The bar was closed on Sunday.

"Who comes into a bar at nine a.m.?" She grumbled, sipping a Carpenter to keep her awake. It failed. She was dreaming about her mother, who had left Lyla's life many years before…

"Oi!" She woke with a start to a prod on her shoulder. "Sleeping on the job will get you fired."

"He can't fire me," Lyla mumbled, pushing her hair back. Her eyes widened when she realized: _she was sleeping on the job._

"Crap!" She bolted upright, eyes darting around frantically until they landed on the man in front of her. She slowly moved her head up, wincing when her eyes found the amused face of Laxus. "Uh, what would you like? I'm not as good as Artemis, heck, nobody is, but I can make a decent mix. And getting it from the tap isn't hard." She pressed her lips together to keep herself from speaking any more, painfully aware she was rambling.

"I'll just have water, thanks. I prefer not to get drunk this early in the morning," He slid easily into a stool. She rushed around, snatching the glass and filling it with the bar's filtered water. She placed it on the table, splashing a bit onto the counter, and slid it in front of him.

"What are you doing this early in the morning?" She asked, grabbing a rag to wash the counter. Again. She truthfully only did it so she didn't look like she was slacking off.

"Bored," He said simply, swishing the around in the glass.

"Ah." She moved to furthur down the counter, the silence making her feel awkward.

"Hey," Laxus suddenly spoke, turning his body towards hers in an odd deviation of character. Not that Lyla was an expert on his personality. "Did you actually call me hot last night?"

 _Did he seriously just ask that?_ Blood rushed to her face and she started stammering. "U-uh, no, I did-didn't."

He grinned at Lyla as she stumbled over her words. He thought it was kind of… endearing. "Oh, I wanted to tell you that I liked your singing." For some odd reason, he wanted to keep talking to this strange, blue-eyed singer.

"Thank you!" Lyla instantly brightened, moving closer to the blonde.

"When did you start?" He asked, taking a drink from the glass in front of him.

"The instant I could talk, I was singing. My uh… my mother sang a lot, and I just followed in her footsteps." Lyla's eyes brightened and she leaned against the counter, now directly across from Laxus.

"Huh. When did you start using magic with your voice?" He stared intently into her eyes and she shifted uncomfortably. He was more observant than she thought.

"Well… I guess when I could use magic it was when I sang and it affected my surroundings," She mused, tapping a finger against her lips. "How about you?"

He stared at her blankly. "Excuse me?"

"When did you start using magic, stupid?" She rolled her eyes before clamping a hand over her mouth. "I-I mean, sir!" Her cheeks burned a brilliant red. _Had I really just talked to him like I do with Artemis?_ She berated herself, backing up a few feet. He laughed, thinking of how much she reminded him of some of his former guildmates.

"When I was very young. I use electricity as magic," He explained to her. She nodded. She already knew his magic type from former encounters.

"I use music as magic. All music, not just my voice. That's why I always carry a harmonica with me." She lifted up the tiny instrument that was connected to her belt. "Although I've always wanted a SoundPod. Can you imagine? Taking music with you wherever you go." She stared dreamily in front of her, broken out of her trance when Laxus chuckled slightly. He was shocked at his own behavior; when was the last time he had laughed, if only a little? "What?"

"I have a SoundPod. Have since I was a teen," He said, grinning in his small way. It really was the only small thing about him, Lyla noted.

"Really?" She smiled. Maybe he wasn't as bad as he seemed, even though he had come close to bringing the place down on multiple occasions.

They continued to hit it off, talking animatedly -at least, Lyla was- about music and other topics that came up. Artemis came down later for her shift and found the two talking like old friends, much to her delight.

"Hey Arty!" Lyla called out.

"Sup, Ly? Lax?" She said back, grinning. Laxus raised an eyebrow at the nickname but said nothing. "Want something?" She called out, going to the back of the bar.

"I'm okay!" Lyla yelled while Laxus said "No."

"Pfft, who doesn't want alcohol in the morning?" Artemis spoke loud enough for the two in the front to hear.

"She'd get along with Cana," Laxus murmured while Lyla shouted back, "Art, you're a minor!"

"So're you, but that doesn't stop ya! And you're a prude!" She appeared with a bottle in hand, pouring it into a glass as she walked. "Besides, it's just a little."

"Do you two run this joint?" Laxus raised an eyebrow at the two eccentric girls. The two minors, for god's sake.

"Of course not." Lyla waved a hand in front of her face. "Oh, god, no," Artemis widened her eyes at the same time.

"The owner, Charlie, took us in as kids," Lyla explained. "We've worked here for more than five years."

"Lyla here is the reason it hasn't gone to shambles. She sings, calms the clients down, they all go home without destroyin' the place. Win win," Artemis said, hopping up on the counter. Lyla laughed.

"So that's why you don't have any magic power," Laxus mused. Artemis let out an offended noise while Lyla nudged her with her fist.

"Of course _Lyla_ is the special little snowflake, her and her stupid dra-" Artemis started mutter before Lyla widened her eyes and shoved her hand against the redhead's mouth. Artemis let out a "Mmph!" before blushing slightly.

"Oops," She grinned sheepishly. Lyla glared at her friend while Laxus watched the whole interaction with interest.

"Wait," He narrowed his eyes at Lyla. "Your magic reminds me of someone…" He trailed off, trying to pin-point who else had the same kind of magic. "Two people, actually…"

"Two?" Lyla squeaked. _He has to be mistaken! Two others? I thought there was only one...!_

Meanwhile Laxus was struggling with his memory, because for some reason, her magic felt an awful lot like…

 _Natsu's_?

"Wait-" Laxus widened his eyes slightly. "Don't tell me that you're a… _dragon slayer?!_ "

* * *

 **Bonjour. C'est moi.**

 **(for those who don't take french: Hello. it's me.)**

 **This is my first Fairy Tail fanfic, and it's been a _chore_ to get this thing on here. I was thisclose to saying forget it and post it on Wattpad. Side note: oKaY I'm SORRY for making Lyla's name so close to Lucy's mother's, Layla! That was completely unintentional and ... **

**Nobody probably noticed and I just brought unneeded attention to myself.**

 **Welp until next chappie (don't forget to review),**

 **Leaf out!**


	2. The Agreement

**Few quick things: pretend Marvel and DC exist in the Fairy Tail world. I do not own neither Marvel nor DC comics, however.**

 **Another disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, nor will I ever own it.**

* * *

The two girls froze, staring at him with wide eyes. _We just met him, how could he have figured out my magic type?_ Lyla thought frantically. Her magic was a close kept secret, knowing many would come to see, challenge, or kill her if anyone knew she practiced a lost magic. She didn't know if she could trust Laxus yet!

Lyla paused, then backtracked. _Wait_. There were _two more dragon slayers?_ Her world seemed to flip in front of her eyes.

The three sat (or stood, in Lyla's case) in silence as everyone digested the situation. Laxus was calmly awaiting an answer, astonished that this calm girl in front of him was a notorious dragon slayer, nearly the opposite in personality to Gajeel and Natsu. Opposed to his inner thoughts swirling at the same pace as a hurricane, he had a tranquil look on his face. Artemis was trying to figure out how Laxus knew Lyla was a dragon slayer while simultaneously plotting ways to get them together and wallowing in self pity- why couldn't _she_ be a mage, too? They had all of the fun and action. Lyla was stumped, unsure of how to tackle the situation that had left her mind reeling. Her train of thought wasn't on the fast track; it had come to a screeching halt, leaving her bewildered. All of them had varying degrees of inner turmoil.

Laxus was the one to finally break the silence. "So are you?"

Lyla was struggling to get a hold on the situation, so she thought it was perfectly normal to ask "Am I what?"

Artemis, obviously, did not think it was perfectly normal, as she slammed her face into her palm. "A dragon slayer, moron." Lyla made a face at the redhead, who didn't see it as she was presently trying to figure out how this would all work out. And how she could manipulate this to work in her -sorry, _their_ \- favor.

"A-ah, yes, I am a dragon slayer." Lyla's voice got quieter with each word. "Don't tell anyone, please." Artemis glared at Laxus, as if daring him to put her best friend, her non-biological sister, in danger.

His blue-grey eyes bore into Lyla's with a sudden intensity, but they quickly softened as he spoke. "I would never tell on a fellow dragon slayer."

"What?!" Artemis fell off the counter. Lyla stumbled backwards into a stool, toppling it and herself onto the floor with her red haired friend. Laxus let out a quick, small laugh at the girls' priceless reactions.

"You're a dragon slayer?" Artemis popped her head above the counter, narrowing her eyes at the blonde. "Of what, big muscles and beer?" Laxus stared at her, unsure if she was serious or not.

"I'm a lightning dragon slayer," He said slowly, trying not to offend her with his condescending tone.

"Obviously, we figured that out from your drunken states from your previous visits." Artemis rolled her eyes, noting to tone down the sarcasm when around the blonde. "If I were a dragon slayer, then I would be the beer dragon slayer. Or the alcohol dragon slayer." Laxus instantly thought of Cana and how well they would get along. He was sure that she had said that as well, at some point in time.

"I'm sure you would be." Lyla righted herself, rubbing at her eyes. Actually, only her left eye. "Crap, my eye burns." She kept rubbing at it, trying to get rid of the burning sensation.

"Move," Artemis ordered, moving the singer's hands away from her irritated eye and examining it. She proceeded to reach delicately into Lyla's eye and gingerly grab something, pulling it out gently.

"Ah, thanks," Lyla said gratefully, rubbing her eye one last time. Laxus simply couldn't understand the two, especially after he saw how casual they were with each other, blatantly obvious after that situation passed. They were more like sisters than friends, though they looked nothing alike.

"Why do you even wear these?" Artemis waved the tiny, translucent object in her hands.

"I told you, people freak out when they see my eyes."

"Your what?" Laxus asked, becoming more confused by the second.

"Hmm?" Lyla turned to the lightning mage, and he was startled to see one blue eye and one silver one staring back at him. "Oh!" She covered up her silver eye. "Sorry." Usually people didn't react well to her odd eyes, though she had no idea why, since there were much stranger features she'd seen on some customers.

"What for?" Laxus quickly got over his initial shock. Silver eyes were the least strange of the things he'd seen on mages, especially in Fairy Tail. Such as Natsu's ridiculously colored hair.

"You would think she was born with them, but she got a magical disease at a young age and got permanently affected by it." Artemis snickered to herself, remembering the reactions of the other kids at the orphanage when Lyla walked out of the infirmary with newly colored eyes. _Priceless_.

"Huh." Laxus looked like he wanted to say more, but he was interrupted by the bell signaling a customer. He let out a long breath, trying not to make his irritation obvious.

"Whoop! Gotta run, lunch rush." Artemis bolted to the back to prepare some of the more popular mixes and quickly organize the clutter from her late night clean-up. _Curse you past self_ , she thought when she saw the mess in her alcohol pantry.

"Talk to you later!" Lyla followed the redhead at a much calmer gait, soon coming back out to figure out what the newcomer wanted with a name tag on.

The hours passed by, and Laxus just stayed in the bar, as he had nothing better to do. At least, that's what he told himself. Whenever the business got slow the two girls would talk with him, bantering back and forth in a way that mildly reminded Laxus of Grey and Natsu. Exhibit A:

"Listen, silver-eyes, you don't pour the gin in like that, you do it like this."

"Oh, why thank you so much, this has changed the entirety of my existence."

"It wasn't supposed to!"

"Then it doesn't matter, does it, flare hair?"

"You don't make a shot about the hair!"

"The hair? What about my eyes, insensitive much?"

"Hair is more important that eyes!"

"Shall we test that theory?"

 _Yup_ , he nodded to himself. _Natsu and Grey, kind version._ He was enjoying their company, and returned the next day only for the girls to drag him outdoors by both his wrists. He allowed himself to be taken outside the bar before he planted his feet. "Okay, where are you two going?"

"It's our day off!" Lyla grinned.

"We're going to the movies, and you're coming with us!" Artemis told him, pulling on his wrist. "Well, I guess if you don't want to I can't force- WAIT, Lyla can force you! There is no escape," She said the last part with a deep voice, grinning creepily.

"Shut up, Art. Laxus, want to go to the movies with us? It's always been just us two and we thought it would be fun with another person. You don't have to go if you don't want to." Lyla let go of his wrist and stared up at his face, smiling. He was one of the few people she had to literally look up to, as she was taller than average.

"Well actually I think Lyla- ouch!" Artemis glared at her friend, rubbing her side where Lyla had elbowed her without missing a beat, still awaiting Laxus's answer.

"Well, I'm not doing anything today…" He pretended to think about it. He really was just wandering around, and it wouldn't hurt to spend some time at the movies with these two. They were sort of fun to hang out with, and it reminded him of hanging out at the guild. Not that he would ever get caught dead telling them that.

"Great! Come on, muscle man." Artemis started dragging him away. Well, she tried to, anyway. She didn't get far. Lyla walked up and "accidentally" bumped into the link her friends had made, separating their hands. Artemis earned herself a death glare when she coughed out "Jealous."

Laxus simply shook his head and started walking, following them to the movie theater.

"Hey, which movie do you guys want to watch?" Lyla asked when they reached the theater, flickering her gaze between the two standing in front of her.

"The newest Superman," Artemis said instantly, pushing open the doors as if that was that. Lyla, however, wrinkled her nose as she walked after Artemis into the theater, Laxus right behind her.

"No, we should watch Spiderman. Or the most recent Captain America." Lyla's face lit up at the mere thought of it.

"Well, if you already had an idea, then why ask?" Artemis made a face directed at the singer.

"I didn't think you would have such bad taste," Lyla shot back.

"Bad taste? Says the girl who takes _Peter Parker_ over _Clark Kent_."

"Peter Parker is way better than Clark Kent! Clark is a loser!"

"Oh, you did not just say that-"

"Let's watch Fantastic Four," Laxus announced, throwing his arms on the arguing girl's shoulders and leading them to the kiosk. They exchanged a glance and shrugged, both okay with his decision. Laxus knew then that it was going to be an interesting two hours, to say in the least.

"He has better taste than you," Lyla whispered, as if Laxus couldn't hear her.

"You're only in it for the cute actors."

"I cannot believe you just- mmph!" A warm hand pressed against Lyla's lips, preventing her from speaking.

"Yes, we would like three tickets to Fantastic Four," Laxus pronounced calmly, hands covering Artemis and Lyla's mouths to stop them from talking. The guy manning the kiosk glanced at the girls uncertainly before handing Laxus the tickets, taking the money slowly. The redhead and white-blonde stared at the man giving Laxus tickets, trying to tell him with their eyes to _hurry up_. They weren't going to let silence get in the way of their movie!

"I got the popcorn!" Lyla announced after they walked away from the kiosk, ducking under Laxus's arm to escape his hold. "I want some pop!" Artemis yelled after her.

"It's called soda!" Lyla called over her shoulder. Laxus shook his head in exasperation. "Are you two always like this?"

"Not always." Artemis frowned. "Usually she ignores me, and we don't go back and forth. She seems to be more playful whenever you're around." Unaware of the effect her words had on the lightning mage, she started strolling towards where the movie was showing. He slowly walked after her figure, thinking on her words. _More playful?_

The two settled in the seats in the darkening theater, a comfortable silence surrounding them. Well, Laxus thought it was comfortable, anyway.

"Do you like us?" Artemis pretended like she didn't speak, staring at the screen of the theater as if the blank screen was the most interesting thing in the world.

"What?"

"Do you find us annoying? We won't drag you around if you aren't enjoying yourself; basically…" She gasped, a sudden, mischievous thought coming to her mind. "Do you want to be our friend?" She glanced his way for a second after her short speech, then turning back to stare a hole in the front of the theater. Laxus contemplated his answer, knowing this was a rare moment of seriousness from the girl (with a hint of mischief, he'd have to watch himself). At that thought, he realized with a start that he had already been around Artemis to understand her personality- to a certain point, anyway.

"I have recently had a… falling out, you could say," Laxus started, not sure himself why he was opening up to the redhead he had meet mere days before. "I'm starting over." She thought on his words for a moment, contemplating what to say a few moments the words left her lips, a rare moment indeed.

"Look, I know we seem young to be your friends, since you're like twenty-two, and we're only seventeen. But… age doesn't really matter, does it? Lyla likes you, and I think you're cool. But you didn't answer the question: do you want to be friends?"

There was silence for a few seconds, then: "Aren't we already?"

At those words, Artemis broke out into a large grin, and not at her silver-eyed friend who was struggling to carry a large bag of popcorn and two sodas. She also inwardly snickered, doing a mental happy dance that her trick worked.

"We can all share the popcorn, and I don't really want soda, I hope you wanted soda, Laxus, because Artemis would get sick drinking all this, but I don't want to force you," She bubbled out, oblivious to Artemis leaning over to Laxus and whispering, "See, she likes you. She rambles when she's nervous." A tiny grin stretched across his face. Artemis then proceeded to -seemingly randomly- drape herself over the seat neighboring hers.

"Um," Lyla stuttered to a stop, noticing her eccentric friend leaning far over into the empty seat next to her. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, this seat's taken. You'll have to sit somewhere else," Artemis said innocently. Lyla snorted, imagining a halo and a golden glow around the girl. Laxus raised an eyebrow at the girl's not-so-subtle matchmaking, reminding him of Mirajane. Besides, there was no way he was getting involved with a girl in that way, especially one that was five years younger than him.

While he was musing and reminiscing, he missed the death glare Lyla sent to Artemis and the white-blonde sitting down next to him. They placed the popcorn in Laxus's lap, much to his dismay, and started flicking popcorn at each other. Artemis was, of course, the instigator, but she was shocked when Lyla retaliated instantly. Artemis was fully prepared to take advantage of Laxus's effect on Lyla. Laxus, however, groaned when he realized they would sooner run out of popcorn before either girl backed down.

"Stop," He ordered, stilling the two's hands with his own.

"This is war," Artemis insisted, Lyla nodding in agreement.

"Do you want to eat it or throw it?" He promptly asked them. The singer and barmaid stared at each other before simultaneously throwing popcorn at each other's mouths. Laxus smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand, groaning inwardly. _What am I going to do with these two?_ he thought in despair, subconsciously happy for the environment. It was so much like the Thunder God tribe; Bickslow, Freed and Evergreen argued all the time, too…

"Oh, Lyla, guess what?" The two had stopped their antics and were passing time before the movie, ignoring the ads playing on the big screen.

"What groundbreaking discovery have you made now, Art?"

"It's not a discovery, it's a claiming!"

"What in the world is a claiming?" Lyla stared at her friend, truly worried for her health.

"Dangit Lyla, don't you remember?" Artemis widened her eyes slightly. "The rules… the code… three a.m. conversations…" She prodded her friend. Lyla had a lightbulb moment before her eyes darkened.

"Don't you dare tell me you-"

"Yup!" Artemis threw some popcorn in her mouth.

"Please tell me you explained-"

"Nope!" Artemis's eyes were gleaming in wicked excitement. Laxus was starting to get used to their back-and-forth banter, but the topic of the conversation was getting him slightly worried. After making that realization he berated himself: he was Laxus Dreyar, lightning dragon slayer. Two teenage girls didn't scare him. Little did he know, a few minutes later would he be taking back that statement.

"Laxus, please, please, _please_ tell me you didn't agree to whatever she said?" Lyla grabbed his arm in exasperation.

"He's going through initiation, then he'll be one of us!" Artemis cackled gleefully. Lyla groaned and pressed the heels of her palms to her eyelids.

Laxus sighed. They obviously weren't going to enlighten him on their own. "What is it that you two are going on about?"

"We created this code, rule thing one day at around three in the morning," Lyla let out a long breath, dropping her hands from her face. "Whenever we meet someone else and we both agree their worthy, we ask them if they want to be our friend and if they _agree to the terms_." At this Lyla glared at Artemis, who angelically slurped from her soda.

"We called it 'staking our claim'," Artemis continued. "If they agreed, then they have to hang out with us every day for seven days. If they're still sane, we entrust them with a secret each. Although, your secret's already out, being a dragon slayer and all." She crossed her arms at this, glaring at Lyla, who innocently smiled at the redhead. Laxus took this all in silently, but it seemed like they were done with the explanation.

"And you tricked me into this?" He asked Artemis calmly.

"I did no such thing, I merely forgot to tell you the fine print." She grinned cheekily at him. Then her eyes went wide and she started shushing the other two, though they weren't speaking anyway, and turned her gaze to the screen where the movie was starting. Laxus and Lyla exchanged glances before turning to watch the movies themselves. While the two girls were enraptured with the screen, Laxus was thinking about what was going to come about in the next seven days. His life truly had taken a quick turn around. He inwardly groaned.

 _What have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

 **Idk... should I do more fluff or jump right into the story? Because I have some great fluff ideas involving a certain thing called Shark Week...**

 **Oh, and if your confused as to who to ship with Laxus, you'll figure it out pretty quick next chap. It all works out, but sorry if you were rooting for the other girl.** **¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**

 **Please review and/or favorite!**

 **-Leaf**


	3. Walks and Drunken Talks

**I do not own Fairy Tail (do I really have to do this at the beginning of every chapter it's already annoying).**

 **And I heard through the grapevine that 10,000 jewel equals about 100 U.S. dollars (my currency), so that's how I wrote the prices (sorry, I don't know about any other currency's exchange rates...).**

* * *

"SUCK ON THAT, LOSER!" Artemis cried out, slamming the controller down on the coffee table. "Ahhh, revenge is sweet!"

Laxus stared at the screen in astonishment, jaw gaping open. _Did she just beat me?_

"And YOU." Artemis swiveled where she sat, grinning widely. "Owe me a hug!"

"Art, you asked for a _hug_?" Lyla, who had just walked into the room carrying random snacks she had found, widening her eyes. "Why not money or something that would actually help you?"

"Have you ever received a hug from this man?" Artemis stood up and stretched. Laxus groaned and set the controller down lightly on the couch, rubbing his hands over his face.

"He's just in denial. Get up, lightning-boy. I earned this hug, and it better be good."

Lyla started laughing at the comical situation. Laxus finally gave in, standing up and giving Artemis… what looked like a really good hug, actually.

"Laxus, why can't I get a hug like that?" Lyla threw a bag of half-empty chips at the man, who caught it and tossed it to Artemis without a second thought.

"I don't hug," He answered simply.

"You should hug more often," Artemis sighed, flopping back down on the couch. "This is why I place bets."

Lyla rubbed at her eyebrows, jokingly wondering why she was friends with this girl. "Okay, Artemis. You've playing video games with him for the past four hours. Don't you think he's getting sick of this by now?"

"Ahh, he needs to suck it up." Artemis leaned backwards, throwing her arms behind her head and kicking her feet up on the couch. Laxus tersely lifted her feet and placed them back on the floor. It was the fourth day into their "agreement" and he was near insane, saved only from Lyla's calming presence and music. Artemis was a hurricane of fire.

"You need to lay off," Lyla smartly responded.

"Tch," Artemis sounded out, shrugging and closing her eyes. "I've played my part. Your turn."

Laxus sighed in relief. Lyla's half of the day, be it morning or evening, was always the desired time of day. Artemis always had him exhausted by the second hour, sometimes by the first ten minutes. The results were the same even when the girls had work.

"Yes! Okay, there's this magic shop that's right next to a music shop and I really want to go there, there's also a bookstore nearby that I want to stop by…" She dragged him out the door. Or, rather, he allowed himself to be carted out the door and down the stairs, out into the marketplace. She fawned over many different magic items and Laxus kept her from spending all of her measly pay. She was a victim of marketing, and he was sure Artemis did this job every time they went shopping.

"What is this?" Lyla carefully picked up the silvery object.

"My dear, that is the key to other universes, you can do great things with that, make more friends-"

"It's a celestial gate key," Laxus interrupted the passionate seller. "Which gate does it open?"

"Columba, gate of the dove," The seller muttered, angry at Laxus for stopping all of his schemes.

"Oh!" Lyla thought about it. She'd heard all about celestial magic; maybe she could give it a try? "How much is it?"

The shopkeeper brightened considerably while Laxus protested. "10,000 jewel!" Lyla widened her eyes. 10,000?!

"Maybe we could make a deal for 9,000," The seller offered, noticing her shocked reaction.

"Is it… is it really worth that much?" She blinked a few times. "Then… I guess nevermind." While they maneuvered their way out of the shop Laxus thought he heard her mutter "I really wanted that key" under her breath.

Her mood lightened immediately when she caught sight of the music shop. "They might have those little instruments I've heard so much about! If I ever travel, I'll want to have as much mobile music as possible!" His heart lightened at her exuberant attitude as she darted around the shop, marveling at the smallest of things.

"I've never seen such a tiny harp! I'll bet that would fit great in my pack! Ooh, it that a foldable drum?"

She gathered up numerous musical instruments, all small sized, and dumped them on the counter. She rifled through her wallet to grab the money, and slapped it on the counter when she found it.

"Uh, you're 3,000 jewels short," The worker stuttered, as nobody had bought this much in one go in a while.

"Oh," Lyla's eyes fell to the many instruments strewn about on the counter, instantly assessing which she could do without.

"Here." Laxus placed 3,000 jewel on the counter. Lyla jerked her head upwards, staring at him incredulously.

"No, you don't have to pay for me. You're already putting up with my music craze; I always get like this around instruments. I don't have to have the, uh," She glanced down at her pile, doing quick calculations. "The flute."

He slid the money towards the worker, who swiftly snatched the money and bagged the instruments, Lyla protesting the whole time.

"Uh… thanks," Lyla finally said, when they strolled out of the store and started walking back to the bar.

"No problem. You have been putting up with me as well, you know," He reminded her, his eyes darting down to meet hers before flicking back up in front of him.

"I wouldn't call it putting up with you- eep!" She yelped when Laxus suddenly grabbed her shoulders and ducked into an alley, and -dare she say it- _nervously_ peeked out from behind the wall. Eventually he sighed, leaning his head against the brick and closing his eyes, relaxing.

"Uh, Laxus?" She tentatively stepped forward, examining his face. He opened one eye and seemed to remember she was there at the same time. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes again and running a hand through his hair. Lyla swallowed, waiting for him to speak.

"It's nothing. I thought I saw something, but it's nothing." He got up off the wall and walked out of the alley. She knew he was lying, especially because he repeated himself, but she let it go. Or she was going to if she had the time, as before she could follow Laxus out of the alleyway someone grabbed her around the mouth and dragged her into a side door she hadn't noticed before. A single rope wrapped itself around her torso and started wrapping itself around the rest of her body while she struggled against it. She bit the hand -which tasted really nasty- clenched on her mouth and took a deep breath to scream when she was hit at the base of her sternum. All of the air rushed out of her lungs and she fell to her knees with a wheeze. She was busy frantically trying to get air into her lungs so she didn't notice the tightening rope. By the time she was oriented, both of her hands were behind her back and her legs were bent underneath her, tied together.

"Lovely catch. Boss'll love this one." She heard a strange voice rasp. She tried to summon her magic; she was a dragon slayer, for god's sake! A few kidnappers shouldn't stop her!

But alas, the rope must have had magic cancelling spells cast on it, for she couldn't even scrounge up a sleeping spell via lullaby. As she lay panting on the ground, still slightly winded from the hit earlier, a leering face was brought into her line of sight. "Aw, is the little baby hurt? Did we hurt you?" He jeered, mimicking what he must have thought was a baby. She growled, dragon slayer style, and headbutted him.

She regretted it seconds later from the instant headache, but the regret when away nearly just as quickly as the man jumped away from her in surprise. She followed up with a loud scream (for some reason, the morons didn't gag her).

The two men cursed, one of them shoving a dirty cloth in her mouth and the other kicking her stomach for good measure. She curled in on the wound instinctively, falling onto her side and moaning in pain.

"That's right," The man hissed at her, cursing worse than a sailer. "You don't scream. Got it?" He kicked her again, pain exploding in her side and stomach. Her lungs still burned, though it wasn't as noticeable, especially with her new bruises. The man let out a cruel laugh and reared back to kick her a third time when the wall exploded.

Lyla wasn't sure what happened, as the next thing she knew she was enveloped in Laxus's arms as he peered at her, eyebrows knit in worry.

"Are you hurt?" She heard him ask. Vaguely her mind noticed the two men, smoldering and unmoving on the ground, but it quickly moved on. She took a quick second to process the events of the past minute or so. It all had happened so fast.

"Did they hurt you?" He asked again, standing up this time with her in his arms. She took a deep breath, then moaned as it stretched her stomach. Laxus got his answer when she curled in on the bruise. He lifted up her shirt to expose her stomach, her wellbeing the only thing on his mind. His gaze darkened when he saw the developing bruise but said nothing.

"Let's get you back." He carefully adjusted his hold and carried her out into the darkening street, the light lacrimas activating slowly.

"I-I can walk," She protested, wiggling out of his grip. Lyla was cursing her damsel-in-distress-like nature. _Why can't I be more like Artemis?_

She straightened, ignoring the pushing pain in her abdomen. Her face twitched slightly when she tried to walk, but she took a breath and continued.

He opened his mouth to argue but realized she would be insulted if he kept treating her like glass, even if he considered it a given since she had just been attacked. "Why didn't you use your magic?" He asked instead.

"The rope prevented me somehow. Thankfully they forgot I could scream, but they didn't appreciate it when I did," She responded, tripping on a stone only for Laxus to catch her and put her upright. They continued as if nothing had happened.

"Hmm." They lapsed into a comfortable silence, Laxus inconspicuously glancing at her throughout the duration of the trip. He wanted to make sure she didn't hurt herself more.

"I was going to give you this earlier, but you had to go and get mugged, so…" One side of his mouth stretched upwards into a smirk. She shot him an unamused look.

"Here." He placed a cold, silver metal key into her palm, enveloping her hand for a few seconds before bringing his hand back to his side. She stared in awe at the Key of the Dove. She most likely wouldn't be able to open it, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"But… you already paid for my music, you paid another 10,000 just for this present?" Her gaze found his and she raised one eyebrow, somehow managing to look thankful at the same time.

"Well, I didn't end up paying the full amount." His mouth was set in an indifferent line, but she noted the amused lift of an eyebrow.

"Oh. How?"

"I have very good negotiating skills." He answered simply. She shook her head, deciding not to ask. She stared back at the key in her hand.

"Okay… here goes…" She concentrated on her magical power. "Open! Columba, gate of the dove!" She waited for something to happen, but the key didn't even vibrate. Her face fell slightly, but not for the reason Laxus was assuming. She had attempted to hide her brief moment of realization, but she was never very good at hiding her emotions.

"Not everyone can be a celestial spirit mage," He attempted to console her.

"Oh, I'm fine. I feel like I should pay you, though, since it's basically useless to me now…"

"It was a present." He pushed her outstretched hand back. "Besides, it may still work."

She nodded, knowing full well she didn't have a speck of celestial spirit magic in her. She was also completely fine with being full of music.

They finally reached the apartment and met the demon in Artemis once they told her Lyla had been mugged.

"What the hell happened?" Artemis had raging fire in her eyes, and Laxus was not enjoying being on the receiving end of it.

"Artemis, I told you, I'm fi-"

"No, you are not fine! Look at that giant bruise! What the hell, Laxus? Why didn't you protect her?" Artemis swiveled on her feet, ignoring the defensive lightning mage, and carefully dragged Lyla towards her room, shoving her -gently, as to not worry the bruise- in and shutting the door behind them. Laxus tried to open the door, to apologize or help or do _something_ , but it was locked.

"Get out of here!" He heard the enraged voice of Artemis yell.

"Just wait on the couch, we'll be out in a minute!" Lyla's calmer voice called out. "Artemis, be nice. He did save me, you know." Laxus followed the saner of the two's command and threw himself onto the couch, waiting silently for the sisters to be done.

In the room, Artemis was lightly prodding the bruise, which was quickly turning a deep reddish purple. Lyla had placed the key on the bedside table carefully when she was "painlessly assaulted" (as she claimed later) by the redhead.

"Ow, Artemis, get off! Since when are you a doctor?" Lyla flinched away from her friend. They were sitting against her bed.

"Since when it concerns me. I order you to not move for three days!" She commanded, causing Lyla to let out a deep sigh.

"Look, I'm fine. I'll just refrain from physical activity and probably loud singing for a couple days. It's all good. Now, you were completely unfair to Laxus out there, and I want you to apologize."

"Really, _mom_?" Artemis shook her head in exasperation.

"Let's go," She ignored Artemis's protests and lead the redhead out the door, causing Laxus's eyes to fall on the two, one eyebrow raised.

"Thanks for saving her," Artemis mumbled. Laxus attempted to stifle a smile.

"And?" Lyla stared expectantly at the girl.

Artemis huffed slightly and wandered over to the couch. "I am not apologizing. I did nothing wrong."

Lyla rolled her eyes, opening her mouth to say something when their alarm rang.

"Crap!" The two girls yelled simultaneously, grabbing their uniforms and bolting out the door, Laxus following in their wake chuckling lightly to himself and worrying for Lyla's health. She really shouldn't be working.

They made it down in time for their shift, and Laxus slid into his stool and received his "complimentary" drinks. He had won three nights of free drinks by beating Lyla at chess. He intended to take full advantage of the situation. Unfortunately for the girls.

One drink turned into ten in the blink of an eye, and before they knew it, there was a drunk Laxus at their bar.

"Art, there's only one more hour until we close," Lyla whispered to her friend. "We can handle him, right?" Artemis nodded. "Of course we can handle him." Artemis was still not over the whole mugging thing, and felt a whole lot of contempt towards the blonde at the moment.

"We can't handle him," Lyla groaned five minutes later, Artemis nodding in agreement.

"Oi, some people still want a drink here!" A regular shouted out from further down the bar. Artemis shot down to the customer and ordered his drink while Lyla approached Laxus.

"Heyyyyyy, Lyy!" He grinned widely, a sight she'd never seen on the man before. "You gonna sinnnnggggg?" A sound escaped his throat that Lyla could've sworn was a _giggle_.

In response, Lyla brought her harmonica to her lips and played a few notes in a soothing order, waiting until the glassy look had swept over his eyes before stopping. Her stomach clenched in slight pain: every time she flexed it, which was a lot, an aching pain swept through her body.

"That was pretty, Lyyy. You know…" He stopped himself, a conflicted look appearing in his eyes. "I like it when you… when you sing."

"Really?" Lyla's eyes found Laxus's to see that he was staring down at her, grinning.

"Yeahhhh. You have a pretty voicccce."

"Thank you, Laxus. Now, sit down and be nice and quiet for…" Lyla flashed her eyes to the clock before returning her gaze back to Laxus. "Forty minutes. You can do that, can't you?"

Laxus nodded slowly. "Mmm. You shouldn't be working with your bruise."

"I'll take that as a yes." Lyla crept away from him, glancing back every now and then to make sure he was staying put. Business was slowing down, and then finally the forty minutes were up. Artemis and Lyla dragged the groggy dragon slayer up to their apartment -there was no way he was getting to his house in this state- and dumped him unceremoniously on their couch. Actually, Artemis did most of the dragging, to Lyla's dismay the singer couldn't do any physically taxing jobs. Upon releasing Laxus, Artemis immediately announced that she was going to bed herself and left for the bathroom to get ready, while Lyla grabbed a few blankets and draped them carefully over the snoring blonde. It was only after she was sure he was as comfortable as he could be that she traveled to the bathroom to prepare for bed.

~o~

Two weeks later, Artemis came home from a short camping trip to find a drunk Laxus passed out on their couch. She laughed, took a million pictures, drew on his face, and took more pictures.

Let's just say Laxus wasn't very happy when he woke up, and Lyla was scolding her sister for such immature acts- then patting her on the back afterwards and making her promise to send the pictures. Artemis responded that she was insulted that Lyla had even doubted she would send them to her.

The third (and last, at least at that bar) time he got drunk was five days after the second.

"Laxus, I swear to all things holy, you are never getting drunk again in this godforsaken bar if it kills me," Lyla announced, trying to pull him towards the door with his arm over her shoulder.

"But I don't want you to die~" He laughed, squeezing her to his side and causing her to let out a small squeak.

"Is it a dragon slayer thing? To be so affectionate when drunk?" Lyla wondered aloud quietly. She was uber affectionate when she was drunk. Artemis had told her many times over the after effects of her drunken nature.

"You tell me, my little- *hic* dragon slayer," Laxus drawled loudly, staring into her face. Lyla stiffened as her eyes flickered around the bar, hoping nobody heard.

"You're drunk," She said nervously, laughing fakely. The few people that had turned around in confusion nodded to themselves and returned to their drink. Relieved they assumed he was only drunkenly rambling, she continued to tug the large man over to the door that led up to Artemis and her's apartment. "Come _on_ , Laxus, you're heavy." She complained, throwing back her head in exasperation. He giggled again, something Lyla hoped she wouldn't have to get used to. It was unnerving and, frankly, creepy.

"Fine, I guess I'll have to." Lyla sighed. She hated using this magic, it made her feel uncomfortable and godlike. She pulled out her harmonica.

"Derrigortzeak," She murmured before bringing the instrument to her lips. She played a slow waltz she had come up with a couple years before. Laxus's body froze, then straightened. It started walking on it's own towards the door, opening it and forcing him to march up the stairs.

"Lyla what's happeninngg?" He slurred, trying to turn around or look at her or do _something_ on his own. He couldn't do anything, though if he were sober he would be able to break free from the immense magic power the lightning mage possessed. She gritted her teeth and kept playing, flinching when she felt his magical power rebel against her compulsion magic. It didn't work very well if the receiving end knew they were being controlled, so it was really ineffective on full-body control. Unless the victim was drunk. Then they usually didn't know what was going on.

She finally managed to push Laxus -with magic and muscles alike- up the stairs and into her apartment. He collapsed onto their couch, groaning softly as her compulsion magic seeped out of his body.

"Lyla," He moaned, bringing his hand up to his face. "Come here."

She hesitantly obeyed, pausing before stepping towards his exhausted body. "Yes?"

He grabbed onto her wrist, pulling her down to the couch while sitting up slightly. "Sit." She tentatively lowered herself onto the couch, knowing there was no way for them to both fit comfortably with Laxus all stretched out.

He laid back down, his head coming to rest on one of her legs. He made a face and pushed himself until his head lay comfortable in her lap. Her body stiffened and her eyes widened as she stared at the drunk blonde, who was seemingly completely comfortable and okay with this arrangement.

"I feel…" He stopped, looking confused. He internally struggled to either give in to the alcohol and tell her, or to be logical and not. The alcohol, this time, won over, but he was still semi-illiterate as a side effect of said alcohol.

"Sick." He finally said, eyes meeting hers in triumph. He did not get the desired reaction, as her eyes widened even more -if that was possible- and she started to struggle to stand up.

"Well, don't throw up all over my carpet!" She tried to stand, jostling Laxus's head in the process. He growled, reaching up and latching onto her shoulder so she didn't cause him any headaches.

"I'm not that kind of sick," He said, sounding annoying. "I'm…"

There was a pause.

"You're what, Laxus?" She asked softly, settling back into the couch. Laxus used his hold on her shoulder to pull himself up and her down until his mouth was directly next to her ear and whispered, "Homesick."

She just gazed down at him in awe and confusion when he let go and they fell back into their former positions (she had also shivered slightly, but not for any reason she was willing to admit). "Homesick? But you were at your home just yesterday."

Laxus shook his head, and it dawned on her. "Fairy Tail. You miss Fairy Tail."

"You remind me of there." Laxus reached up and touched her cheek, reminiscing. Well, as much as he could in his current state. "Of Levy and Ever and Erza, and even of that new girl whatsherface. You remind me of Grey and Artemis reminds me of Natsu and you guys make their relationship in a different way. You guys remind me of Fairy Tail." Tiny tears started glistening in his eyes, and Lyla panicked.

"No, don't cry! It's okay, right? We just remind you of old friends, that's all. Right? Old friends. Of Levy, Ever, Erza, um, Grey and Natsu? But it's okay right now, um, oh, I suck at this," Lyla muttered, especially worried when she saw fire appear in Laxus's eyes.

"I am NOT friends with that fire freak and ice pervert!" He cried out, lurching upwards in response.

"Okay! Okay, okay, okay, calm down." She pushed him back into the lying position. To attempt to calm him down, she started running her fingers through his hair and combing it, something that always worked when Artemis was stressed out and- well, and drunk. From what she could tell, it seemed to be working with Laxus as well, so she continued to run her fingers through his blonde locks.

"Sometimes I want to go back," He mused, staring blankly above him, whether at Lyla or the ceiling she wasn't quite sure.

"Then why don't you?" Lyla asked him, knowing full well she would get an answer with all of his walls down from his excessive beer consumption.

"Gramps kicked me out," He said simply, eyes wandering.

"Gramps?"

"You know, Master. Gramps. He's my grandpa."

"WHAT?!" She jolted upwards but didn't quite make it to her feet, as Laxus once again brought her back down to the couch with a growl. Her hand, which was formerly running through his hair, stilled and his gaze met hers.

"What?" Laxus was completely, blissfully unaware of the torrent of emotions his statement had dumped on the poor girl.

"Oh my god I'm so stupid, how could I have not figured it out sooner? Lightning dragon slayer magic, his name is freaking _Laxus_ , he looks so much like the Master of Fairy Tail… Artemis is going to freak… have I seriously let this psychopath into my house?… his temper is legendary…" She muttered incoherently under her breath, running a hand through her hair and resting it on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'm not in Fairy Tail anymore," Laxus proclaimed, missing her problem and, if anything, making it worse. She was completely still, staring at the wall and contemplating his situation. She was tempted to kick him out then and there based on his less-than-positive reputation. She stopped herself and remembered when _she_ was trying to fit in in spite of a reputation she had given herself from the past. Artemis…

"You know what?" She announced, coming to a conclusion. "Here, you aren't Laxus Dreyar, grandson of Master Makarov. You aren't Laxus of Fairy Tail, either. Here, you're just Laxus, our friend. Got it?" She stared intently down into his eyes.

"Got it." His grin grew lopsided and his eyes rolled up towards his forehead so it looked like he was stared at the arm of the couch. His arm moved upwards and his hand wrapped around her wrist as he lowered her hand onto his hair again. Understanding what he wanted instantly, Lyla started moving her fingers through the dragon slayer's hair. His eyes fluttered -yes, _fluttered_ \- shut and he was snoring within minutes. Lyla let out a laugh that revealed a mixture of emotions: relief, confusion, astonishment, and happiness.

Laxus was passed out on her lap, and her legs were starting to fall asleep, but there was no place else she would rather be.

* * *

 **Idk with this chapter. I ran out of content and thought I remembered I promised an extra long chapter, so then I thought of the mugging... then I kinda ran with it and now it's MORE THAN 4,400 WORDS so yeah that's a slight upgrade from 2,900 or so, even if I didn't promise it...? (idk with my mind)**

 **Ugh this chapter is trash I'm so sorry**

 **Well, the plot (for part one, anyway... huehuehue) is actually starting next chapter (I've delayed long enough).**

 **Until then, mes amis! (and don't forget to review!)**

 **-Leaf**


	4. Shark Week

**Oops. A lot later than I intended. Sorry, y'all. Slight update: I forgot to actually post this... *facepalms* so it's a day later for no reason at all**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

Lyla and Artemis stared at their calendars, wishing away the inevitable. A tiny little star adorned the corner of tomorrow's date. The star was called "the star of death" by the sisters, aptly named according to them.

"There will be so much blood." Artemis shuddered at the thought.

"Are we prepared, Captain Lirika?" Lyla turned her gaze to the dismayed redhead.

"Nearly, Commander Entzulearen. The only thing we need now is the blankets prepared. Did you finish prepping the living space?"

"I did, Captain Lirika. We are pretty much prepared for the coming battle."

They locked eyes again and shivered. "This is a battle that cannot be won. We must wait this one out, Commander."

"Affirmative."

* * *

"Are you two alright?" Laxus was at their apartment door, confused as to why they weren't downstairs. He had knocked a few times, but there was little movement happening behind the door. "What's going on?"

The door finally opened to reveal a pajama clad Lyla munching on a chocolate bar. "We're out of commision. Please come back later. Leave a message after the beep." She slammed the door again with a loud "BEEP!" which achieved a giggle from Artemis, who was eating a tub of ice cream out of the container. Many considered the two outrageously dramatic, they claimed they were merely taking advantage of their flexible work schedule and deciding to splurge for a few days.

"I got the blinds. Start it." Lyla commanded, shutting the blinds lazily and flopping onto the couch. She kicked up her feet onto the ottoman and stretched her arms out. Artemis was on the other side of the couch, laying her head on the armrest and stretching her body across the piece of furniture, resting her feet on Lyla's lap. Artemis clicked the play button and resumed the grueling task of eating sideways while Lyla finished up her candy bar.

Laxus was contemplating outside their door whether or not to open it or walk away. He wasn't stupid; he knew what was going on, and anyway, the slight smell of blood didn't go unnoticed from the dragon slayer's nose. He tried to remember how he dealt with Evergreen when she was like this. Lots of food? Massages? There was only so much the lightning mage was willing to do. He was quite awkward when it came to this particular happening.

An idea crossed his mind and he groaned, knowing it would eat away at him until he enacted his newfound plan.

 _I can't believe I'm doing this for them…_ he thought as he trudged away from the girl's door, shaking his head with his mouth upturned slightly. The two girls had an unintentional soft spot in the dragon slayer's seemingly stone cold heart.

Lyla and Artemis spent the rest of the day binge watching and screwing around, especially with Lyla's magic (it was a wonder they didn't break down their apartment. There was a mutual agreement they would never explain the flower petals engraved into the edge of the table). They also talked, a lot, about everything. Including, well…

"Lyla, tell me you think Laxus is hot." Artemis lazily let her arm hang off the couch. Their movie had just finished.

"Artemis, you don't need my confirmation." Lyla rolled her eyes at the girl, no longer singing along to the song that was playing after the credits.

"I need to know you are with me." Her eyes were fixated on the ceiling and she was mentally drawing things on the white plaster.

"Okay."

"So say it."

"Dang, Artemis, didn't you know that Laxus is real hot?" She said in the most sarcastic voice she could muster.

"Yes." Artemis sighed, half closing her eyes. "How did we score such a tall glass of water, Lyla?"

"Did you only befriend him because of that? Last I checked, neither of us were dating him."

"Course not. His god-like appearance is only a plus. Though we should go swimming sometime with him, you know. As friends, of course." Lyla didn't have to look to know that Artemis was staring at her with a mischievous expression on her face. Lyla rolled her eyes at the barmaid once again.

"I'm done talking about this." Lyla ran a hand over her face in exasperation, standing up with care. "I'm taking a shower. I feel disgusting."

"You look disgusting too," Artemis commented, sitting up on the couch and sitting indian style. Lyla flipped the redhead off and proceeded to wander into the bathroom after grabbing some fresh clothes to change into.

Artemis had just snatched up a book and a mug of beer when there was pounding on the door. _Who in the hell…?_

She was not as kind as Lyla when she answered the door. When she grasped the handle and swung it open, she proclaimed "If you set one foot in this house, I will castrate you. Good- Laxus? What are you doing here?" Her entire demeanor changed and she leaned against the doorframe. Shaking off his initial amusement and slight worry for Artemis's sanity, he raised an eyebrow and held out his arm, bags dangling from his hand.

"I brought reinforcements," He stated simply. Artemis furrowed her brows and peeked in one of the bags, eyes widening considerably when she lay her eyes onto the contents.

"I take back my former statement. If you _don't_ set foot in this house I will castrate you. Get in here." She dragged him past the threshold and snatched one of the bags, shouting "Lyla! Laxus is here, so don't come out naked or anything!"

Laxus's mind inevitably started creating scenarios, especially when his ears picked up the sound of a running shower. He mentally shook his head, attempting to get the inappropriate images out of his head. An "Okay!" sounded from the bathroom.

"I cannot believe you did this." Artemis moaned in happiness as she took a bite out of a cookie, sinking to the floor, Laxus following suit after a second. There was a package in front of her on the floor that she had feraly ripped open, and she shoved another cookie into her mouth when her eyes started tearing up.

"Nobody has ever done something like this for us before!" She wailed, giving in to her fluctuating emotions. Laxus recoiled. He had been considered one of the most powerful mages in Fairy Tail, and was also considered one of the more brave occupants, but stick a crying girl in front of him and he was lost.

"Err," He stuttered, staring with wide eyes at Artemis, who was sniffling and stuffing another cookie into her mouth. She looked up at him when he started to speak, and her face scrunched up. After a split second of internal turmoil, and a decision of _why not?_ (a motto she lived much of her life by) she launched herself at Laxus and hugged him.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks," Artemis mumbled, her face buried in Laxus's shoulder and her arms wrapped around his rather broad chest. He was completely still, a small look of complete terror making its way onto his face. She suddenly leaned backwards, staring into his widened blue-grey eyes and narrowed her own. "If you tell anyone I was ever grateful…"

"You'll castrate me." The corner of his mouth twitched upwards, his awkwardness vanishing in the instant Artemis reverted back to her snarky nature. It was a little more intense, he had noted, but this he could handle.

"Damn straight I will," She snickered to herself and grabbed another cookie. "Oh, and I thought I'd warn ya- Lyla has the funniest emotions right now. It's hilarious. She gets really sad sometimes, loves to sing randomly -not that she doesn't do that now- but the best part is…" -a nervous knot twisted in the dragon slayer's stomach- "she has basically no filter." -the knot vanished and he relaxed. Artemis's next words became slightly muffled, the reason being the cookie she had just shoved in her mouth. It was scary, really, the rate the girl was eating them.

"But she also has a short temper and is the most sarcastic little sh- oh, hey Lyla!" She brightened instantly, sitting up straight and swallowing the cookie lodged in her throat. She was gesturing to Laxus and the cookies and the bags all at once. Because of her mumbled, cookie-infused words, Laxus became slightly worried yet again. His nerves had gone up and down more in the past few minutes than they had in the past couple years, including the taxing moments after the fantasia parade.

"What were you about to say, Artemis?" Lyla wrung out her dripping wet hair onto the carpet, raising one eyebrow. She was clad in a large sweater and sweatpants.

"Oh, nothing!" Artemis responded cheerfully. "It doesn't matter, anyway. Laxus is here!"

"Oh, really? I didn't notice from the shout you so kindly berated my ears with." She paused then, staring at the bags clustered in between Laxus and Artemis, both of which were still seated on the ground.

"He brought food." Artemis waved the cookie package at Lyla temptingly, a teasing lilt in her voice. Lyla decided to be stubborn in that moment and merely stared at the package, asking "Is there any strawberries?"

Artemis glanced at Laxus, as if to say _if you didn't bring any strawberries, you are alone in the blame_.

"Does strawberry cheesecake count?" He reached into one of the bags beside him and brought out the delicacy, grinning slightly when he saw he had won the hormone-induced dragon slayer over (they were quite dangerous when they wanted to be). He had originally subconsciously got it because it reminded him of a certain red haired berserker mage, but there was no possible way he would ever allow himself to think that. No, in his mind, it was simply another treat for the girls he had grown strangely fond of.

"Oh my god I love you," She gushed, rushing forwards and collapsing in front of the lightning mage. She reached forwards and grasped the plastic case on the cake, stumbling to her feet and running into the kitchen to grab a fork. Artemis giggled at the display and reached for her formerly forgotten mug of beer, cookie crumbs littered across her face and decorating the ground she sat on.

"Artemis! Ready for another movie?" Lyla stalked back into the room, her fork in the edge of the cake, which was not exactly small. Nonetheless, it was obvious Lyla was not sharing.

"I vote Laxus chooses the movie! He brought all this stuff, it's the least we could do, right?" Artemis stated, giving Laxus a glare that said _You are staying, right, moron?_ He nearly raised his hands in surrender before standing to choose a movie. However, instead of foolishly choosing one at random or even one that he liked, he smartly scrolled through the various available shows and movies and attentively watched and listened for the girls' responses. When he scrolled over a particular one that they both reacted positively to and he himself wouldn't mind watching, he announced that was the one they would see. Because of his careful picking process, the both girls were happy with his choice, and they flopped onto the couch in a mess of limbs. Laxus sat carefully in an armchair nearby, sliding the rest of the bags of unhealthy treats to the couch with his foot. He was sure they would appreciate the action later.

"That was a terrible movie. I don't know why I was so excited for that piece of crap," Lyla stated bluntly as the credits rolled.

"Stop being so judgemental. You're just upset because there wasn't good music." Artemis rolled her hazel eyes and reached for a nearly empty carton of yogurt. Laxus had not gotten that, the girls had just had it sitting in their fridge.

"Music is half the movie!" Lyla protested, turning her gaze to her redheaded friend. "So if the music sucks, the movie sucks!"

"That means the movie gets half points for a good plot." Artemis grinned toothily at the singer.

"Pah, the plot was terrible too. Zero points."

"At least three."

"Nope, zero."

"I'll settle for two."

"One. That's final."

"One and a half."

"Fine."

They went silent, thoughts preoccupied with who knows what. Laxus had long gotten used to their bickering, and would not be able to tell anyone what the movie was actually about. They had been making snarky comments and bantering back and forth the entire two hours, which was far more entertaining than the screen itself.

"I'm sick and tired of movies. Where's that stupid keyboard?" Lyla announced and swung herself off the couch. She began searching for her keyboard and let out a victorious shout when she found it. She swiftly set it up and pressed a key experimentally, a small smirk coming to her face when the correct sound came from the instrument.

"LYLA!" Artemis jolted upwards suddenly, eyes wide. If Laxus had not been so battle trained, he might have yelled a sound of shock. Instead, he flinched imperceptibly. "Show Laxus that new thing we figured out!"

"Oh!" Lyla's eyes lit up at the thought. They had wondered if they could create lightning or electricity with music. Music manipulation magic. "Yeah, this is really cool."

"Naw, it's… it's… electrifying." Artemis grinned widely in success. She earned a dirty look from Lyla, and responded by scrunching up her nose and playfully grinning.

"Here we go. I think this one works best…" Lyla turned to the keyboard in front of her and concentrated, placing her hands carefully on the keys. She then began to play a song that sound sort of like jazz, sort of techno, all in major with seemingly random accidentals. He was slightly surprised to say Artemis was right: the word he would use to describe the song would be _electrifying_.

He blinked when he felt the electricity spark from her fingers and flicker over her body and run up and down the instrument. She started playing a bit faster, and the electricity got stronger. Laxus raised an eyebrow when it started getting to a dangerous level. Lyla suddenly tapered off, sweat beading her brow. The electricity that had been simply surrounding her discharged into the air and shot straight at Laxus. He had felt the waiting lightning and drew it towards him so the girls didn't destroy their house from playing around. The electricity lit up his body for a split second before disappearing as he absorbed it.

"Woah." He was amused to discover the two girls staring at him. He didn't think much about the lightning, but it was a display to the girls.

"Sweet!" Artemis threw up her arms. "I wish I could do magic. Magic is awesome."

"I wonder if I could do it with fire…" Lyla contemplated. Laxus widened his eyes slightly and said "That's a terrible idea." He had a slight flashback to when Natsu first came to the guild and was showing off his fire magic. The pink-haired mage had neglected to realize that the wooden tables were flammable.

"Okay." Lyla instantly stood up from the keyboard and took a few steps before suddenly stopping, grasping the couch and swaying where she stood. There was silence for a few seconds, then she straightened and stalked into the kitchen, tripping on the way but catching herself before she face planted. A glance told Laxus that Artemis wasn't all that worried about her friend, so he assumed it must be a common occurrence. He soaked in the uncommon silence surrounding the entire house.

"Laxus, there's something I gotta tell you." Artemis spoke suddenly, breaking out of her silent pondering.

"Hm?" He turned his attention to the redhead, vaguely interested.

"Bare with me. I'm about to get real dramatic." She took a deep breath, then stared the lightning mage in the eyes, unblinking. "When Lyla and I were kids, we were at an orphanage. It's not a big deal, and we weren't treated terribly or anything. But, well, it was a human orphanage. Like, no mages." She then broke eye contact, fiddling with her shirt and looking uncharacteristically nervous. "Lyla had a lot of friends in the orphanage, I'm sure you could imagine, with her kindness and all. I was one of them. I didn't- well, that doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm the only one that didn't cast her aside or betray her. Even after all that, she doesn't have trust issues, but I do, for her. What I'm trying to say is, well…" A flurry of emotions crossed Artemis's face, fear and worry being two of them. "I can't really threaten you, since you are obviously a lot stronger than me and could probably strike me down in two seconds, but don't you dare betray us. Or Lyla, really, since she's the one who had all the friends. Just… don't…" She fumbled for words, and cursed her dramatic, slow, and stuttering brain. She also cursed the raging hormones racing through her body. The cramps didn't help anything, either.

"I've betrayed enough people in my life," Laxus said simply. His meaning did not go unnoticed, and there was a rare soft appearance to Laxus's face. Her eyes looked up at him gratefully, and that was when Lyla decided to re-enter the living room. She instantly groaned, casting her eyes up to the ceiling.

"Artemis just said something dramatic and sappy, didn't she?"

* * *

 **This is literally just a fluff chapter, with a bit of dramatics (ok, maybe a lot... I'm a sucker for drama). I kinda hate this chapter, since it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. I actually wrote this after I finished chapter 5 (so now I just have to edit before posting, meaning less wait!), since I thought the plot was a little rushed. Fun fact- there will be multiple arcs and parts, kinda like the actual manga/anime. Except less awesome, since there is no way I'm reaching the level of Fairy Tail.**

 **Don't forget to review! Ciao!**

 **-Leaf**


	5. Kidnappings

**WOO! WI-FI! GUESS WHAT THAT MEANS? I GET TO UPDAAAAAAAATE!**

 **On a more serious note I only read through this like once so I'll do some more thorough editing later bcuz I really wanted to get this out there!**

* * *

 _It is nearly complete. All I need is the magic to power it. But dragon slayers aren't that easy to come by, are they?_

"I never asked." Laxus was lounging on their couch, as per usual. "Are you a first or second generation?"

"What?" Lyla glanced upwards from her mini harp she had bought all those weeks before. She was in the middle of tuning it on the couch near Laxus and making up a new magical song. It was supposed to induce peace with those who were dead. Temporary peace that calms the person into a happy, sad state that reminds them of the happy moments with their loved one and helps them get over it. She had suddenly gotten the idea and hadn't been able to get it out of her head, and dubbed the song _Merci._ She was almost certain it meant thank you in a foreign language, one she had heard many years before and learned a few words of.

"Are you a first generation dragon slayer, or a second generation?" He repeated, raising an eyebrow. His hand twitched slightly as the memory of being implanted with the lacrima flashed through his thoughts.

"I'm not sure what you mean," She said, furrowing her eyebrows and setting down her instrument. Artemis was out with some old friends she had caught down at the marketplace. There was the common promise that she would be back by 10.

"Were you taught by a dragon, or implemented with a lacrima at a young age?" He elaborated, but he already knew the answer.

"Oh. My mother taught me," She said blankly, pushing the memories away.

"Then you're a first generation dragon slayer," He explained, pretending to ignore her almost emotional moment.

"What's second gen?" She questioned, reaching for her harp again. She needed a distraction.

"When you get a lacrima that allows your body to use dragon slayer magic." His gaze stayed on the ceiling, reminiscing about the two dragon slayers he had left behind. He absolutely did not miss anyone at Fairy Tail, that was for sure. If he did, it would be Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen. Perhaps even Gramps.

"You're a second gen, aren't you?" She plucked a few strings on the instrument, raising an eyebrow in the other blonde's direction. He glanced sideways at her, raising an eyebrow of his own, a little astonished she had figured it out so fast.

"Well, you just knew what a second generation was, so I assumed… sorry, were you raised by a dragon too?" She rushed to explain herself, misinterpreting his expression. He moved his head from side to side slightly, denying her assumption.

"I am a second generation. My father gave me the lacrima when I was a boy." He decided not to tell her that he was a sickly child, and that was the reasoning behind the lacrima.

"Hmm." She pondered this fact. "So, you used to be in Fairy Tail, right?"

"You figured it out?"

"Uh, no, when you got drunk…" She absentmindedly fiddled with the harp, not really playing anything, more of calming her mind. He let out a groan, closing his eyes. "What else did I do?" He asked with dismay hidden in his voice.

"Well…" She paused, remembering that eventful night. Her eyes flicked to his, which were waiting expectantly, and her cheeks tinged pink. He was too proud to take himself pouring out his feelings to the girl well, or at least without embarrassment. "Nothing really. You were quite affectionate, however." She couldn't help herself as she gave the lightning mage a teasing smile, causing his expression to turn infinitesimally horrified as he wondered: _what did I do?_

He didn't have to ask, she knew the silent questioned emanating from his embarrassed and worried form. She allowed a pregnant pause, enjoying teasing the dragon slayer a little too much.

"Don't worry." She finally said, laughter flowed through her body; it wasn't every day you saw the great Laxus humbled quite like this. "You just hugged me a lot and wanted to cuddle. It was really endearing, you know."

"Shut your trap." He muttered, shifting on the couch where he sat. Lyla let out one final giggle before her gaze floated to the clock on the mantle. She furrowed her eyebrows, and Laxus glanced at her at the sudden silence. "What?"

Her gaze turned terrified within seconds. "Artemis was supposed to be back ten minutes ago."

He relaxed, letting out a silent breath he didn't know he was holding. "She's just a little late, that's all. She's fine."

"Laxus." He paused at the serious tone in her voice, and turned to meet her strangely intense eyes. "Artemis is many things. She has been drunk, had a man, and has even been in the middle of a winning streak at a casino, but she was home on time. She leaves behind friends, money, magical items to be back on time. In all of the years I have known her, Artemis has never. Been. Late."

They stared at each other for a full five seconds before Laxus lurched to his feet, grabbing his fur-lined jacket and stalking out the door, Lyla right behind him with her own coat in hand. They bolted down the steep stairs of the apartment and out the door, fast walking down the street, heads darting back and forth in their frantic search for the spunky barmaid.

"Artemis!" Lyla called out, growing more and more desperate. Laxus had a calmer demeanor, but he had grown attached to the redhead, as much as he would like to deny it. "ARTEMIS!" While Lyla was searching with her eyes, Laxus was more paying attention to his magic sense, thinking if someone took Artemis, they were most likely a mage, or someone who used magical items.

"Laxus! Laxus, look!" Lyla grabbed hold of Laxus's arm, directing his focus to a mark in the alleyway. Laxus wasn't sure how Lyla had caught it, as it was night and the mark was dark. He covered his hand in lightning and brought it up to the wall, shining light on the shimmering mark. It was a crude L, though the color dragged away in a way that caused it to look like a lightning bolt. The red was bright against the white brick, making Lyla stock still.

"Sh-she's…" Lyla stared at the blood for a few long moments. "Blood. They made her…" her fist started shaking, a harsh jerking making its way up her arm until her whole body shook. Laxus worriedly turned her way to figure out what was wrong when he saw a look he hadn't seen in anyone since Fairy Tail. She was shaking, not in fear, but in unquenchable rage.

" _They made her bleed._ " Lyla's voice was darker than he had ever heard it, and her eyes were a vicious glare. She herself was seeing red, even when she turned away from the bloody mark left by her sister. " _They have made a huge mistake._ "

Laxus realized then exactly how much she was like another member of his former guild. She had reminded him of that one girl -Levy, was her name?- from her love of books, she had reminded him of Evergreen from her snarky nature, she had even reminded him of Erza from her passion towards her favorite things. But until now, he had never noticed how much she was like the calm storm named Mirajane, the kind demon, one of the strongest mages in the guild. Lyla forged on with evil intent, following the painful trail of blood.

 _Artemis got hurt… someone hurt my sister… I am going to MURDER whoever attacked her!_ Lyla's thoughts swirled around in a angry cycle. This had never happened before. Why would someone randomly attack Artemis? Lyla knew her friend (her affectionately called sister) was pretty, but she carried quite a few self defence tricks up her sleeve. No, this was an assault specifically on Artemis.

The trail of blood lead the two blondes to a run down warehouse. They would have cringed at the cliche of it if they weren't so intent on finding the magicless girl. Finally they reached the inside of the slowly crumbling building, both sensing the strange magical power coming from near the center of the structure. Lyla saw a large machine out of the corner of her eye before her gaze settled on the unconscious form of Artemis, shackled to a pole and a rag strung in her mouth and around her head. There was blood lining her right arm, which Lyla now saw was a result of Artemis cutting herself with her knife to lead the two mages to her. Artemis had hurt herself to help her friends find her.

"Lovely for you to finally arrive, I was almost getting worried." A snake-like voice slithered into Lyla's ears. She would have shivered in disgust (it truly was a creepy voice) if she wasn't so angry and worried. "I wasn't expecting extra company, however. I do dislike being unprepared."

"Artemis!" Lyla screamed, snapping out of her funk and stumbling towards her best friend.

"Ah, ah, ah." The voice taunted, materializing as a figure behind the redhead. A knife came out of smoke and leaned itself against Artemis's neck, mockingly drawing a thin line of blood. Lyla growled the growl of a dragon, eyes growing into slits. Laxus was still, expression set in a familiar glare, finding the width of the scumbag's magical power and waiting for an opening. Years of training helped him with this, but Lyla was feeding off of strong emotions and raw power.

"Don't. Touch. Her." Lyla narrowed her eyes, and Laxus reminded himself not to get on her bad side. She was a dragon slayer, and she was protecting that which was important to her. Laxus may command the dragon slayer magic, but the true, everyday attributes of a dragon could only come from being raised by one.

"I don't think you are in any position to tell me what to do," The voice said snidely, flicking what seemed to be their finger and the knife pressed closer to the unconscious redhead's neck. Lyla blanched.

"Now, I think that you should-" The voice had started cockily.

 _There._ Laxus had pinpointed the exact position of the perpetrator. Lightning exploded from his body and struck the place where the magic power was the greatest.

"Now that wasn't very nice." The voice was from their left now, but it sounded slightly rattled though it seemed to try to hide it. "I think I'll have to punish you for your impudence, kid."

"Who're you calling kid?" Laxus grumbled, seemingly calm as he lashed out again with the lightning. _Teleportation magic, or speed?_

"BLACK CORRUPTION!" A shout sounded from above, a dark swirling vortex appearing above Laxus and swirling down to him like a tornado. He easily jumped out of the way, watching with fascination as the ground he was standing on turned dark black and crumbled to dust. Lyla stared at the dark hole where the lightning dragon slayer had been standing. Though there was no chance that Laxus would have been actually caught in that weakly placed spell, Lyla didn't know that. She thought there was a large chance he would have been killed. She thought this voice almost killed Laxus.

"Why don't you come out here and fight like a man, coward?" Laxus inwardly cringed as the sentence escaped his mouth. Was Elfman really that influential?

A creepy, disembodied cackled sounded throughout the building. Lyla pinpointed where it came from and realized this weirdo's magic. The mage was voice-throwing, and creating dummies in the place where he or she threw their voice (hopefully he, she would start to feel pity if it were a female, what with the sound of the voice). The dummy Laxus had shot was destroyed, but the kidnapper simply created another dummy next to Artemis and continued to throw their voice. They were also capable to throwing their voice to multiple places at once, which was why the voice sounded disembodied at times. She could figure out where the pathetic mage was, but she had to listen very carefully.

Unfortunately, she realized this as she was cutting Artemis free and watching Laxus battle it out with a fake. But if the mage was creating the dummies so quickly, he had to be close.

She just had to listen. And once she found this loser, she would give them hell to pay. In her mind, they had almost killed two of the most important people in her life.

"DARK TWISTER!" A spiral of purple and dark twisted around, writhing around Laxus's figure. Lightning darted out from the seams of the cocoon the spiral was creating, destroying the spell without much difficulty. Laxus's face was a straight line, and he looked utterly unamused. There was bright yellow lightning enveloping his body and flickering up to five feet from the man. She noticed the hidden fury in his expression, and his arms were tensed. Lyla finished freeing Artemis from her restrains, and held the girl tightly as if she could make all this vanish with a single tight hug.

"I see. You aren't any run-of-the-mill mage, are you? Well, I gotta pull out the big guns then…" The figure materialized in front of Laxus, a lanky man with deep red clothing.

"COMPULSION MAGIC! MAGE MANIPULATION!" The man shouted, holding both hands out in front of him. Red and purple light flew out of his fingers, towards Laxus. Laxus dodged easily, but the magic wasn't directed towards him. He watched, eye widening, anger increasing, and worry evident in his expression. The spell slammed into Lyla full on, flying her back. She collapsed on the floor, only to stand back up almost instantly. Her eyes were no longer the silver he had known, but were a glistening red and purple respectively.

"Now, this is fun…" The man chuckled, causing Laxus to turn and launch some lightning at him, but he disappeared and rematerialized on a ledge in another part of the building. So he could use short-range teleportation as well. While Laxus was attacking the man, Lyla had been muttering spells and setting up magic circles.

"SOUND TRAP!" She screamed, leaping at Laxus in attack. Seven magic circles appeared in a circle around his feet, and magical power erupted from the circles, vibrating and disorienting Laxus in a fashion he'd never seen or felt before. Lyla flew through the magic and tried a punch on his face. It was intended by the man controlling her to knock Laxus back. Unfortunately for him, he didn't account for his victim's physical strength, or lack thereof. While she punched him, or attempted to, he merely caught her fist and glared at her. She widened her eyes. She may not be in control of her actions, but Laxus was _terrifying_. And he wasn't even trying.

"Laxus," She whispered. He paused. This was Lyla's voice. _Can she control that aspect of her body alone?_

"Get Artemis and get out of here. I… I can't control my actions. I don't know how to break out of this spell. I don't want to hurt anyone." She shuddered in her wrestle with the spell.

"And leave you here to fend for yourself?" He muttered, the sound spell flickering out of existence around him. Her eyes flashed, and a buzzing sound filled his ears.

"LEAVE!" Lyla shouted, and the buzzing increased in his head. He gave her a little shock of lightning. It was only to stop her spell, and there wasn't enough voltage to actually hurt her. Nonetheless, the buzzing stopped.

"Lyla. You're coming home," He commanded, stormy eyes staring into hers. She paused. Her eyes flickered between silver and the red and purple combination, but settled on the red and purple.

"SOUND DRAGON WING BEAT!" She shouted, frantically trying to stop the spell. She hadn't used a dragon slayer spell since… well, since she was with Zara…

Lyla had jumped up, bringing her arms down in a powerful movement, unleashing the attack upon Laxus, who was hiddenly astonished and braced himself against the attack. The stone underneath his feet cracked under the pressure of the spell, and Laxus grunted as he was pushed back an inch, arms positioned in an X in front of him.

"Lyla! Fight it!" He snapped at her, patience wearing thin. Where was the man who kidnapped Artemis?!

"I'm trying!" She tried to sound irritated, but it came out afraid and weak. Her body twisted into a kick directed at Laxus's face, which he easily caught and threw to the ground. Her body stumbled to the floor, and she resisted the urge to get up and fight. _Don't…_

Her body, acting of its own accord, lurched to its feet and turned towards the other dragon slayer. "Attack me." Lyla told him, trying to move away but failing for the hundredth time.

"Lyla-" He tried to deny her request when she rushed him away, shouting out "DRAGON SLAYER- wait." Her body froze on the spot, her mouth twisting in confusion and anger against her will. When she opened her mouth, the snake-like voice slithered out instead of her own.

"You are preventing me from the dragon slayer spells?" She hissed, her face contorting into something wicked. "How? Have you forgotten them?"

Laxus watched in worried, almost scared fascination as she let out a shriek. Her hands clamped around her head in a vice grip. Her eyes were shut tightly and she was fighting, fighting against the spell that bound her.

"STOP!" She yelled, trying to figure out what to do, how to break free. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

At the last word, all sound in the building vanished. She was collecting it all, eating it, absorbing it, gaining power. Laxus tried to speak, but the words were ripped away from him the instant they left his mouth. His ears picked up nothing from around him, a truly disorienting effect of her power collecting. All at once, the sound came flowing back and she stopped twitching. Her eyes were solid silver. Victory appeared in her eyes, but it only lasted a moment before the man shot her in the back with another bout of manipulation magic. She stumbled, sure she could break free of it easier than before…

But this time it was different. The spell was stronger, and she didn't want to hurt Laxus, though if she managed to it would be quite the feat, knowing the strength of the dragon slayer. Laxus, on the other hand, groaned in frustration. They would get nowhere with the dance they were doing. Something had to be done.

She had started her struggle against the second spell when she realized the freedom the voice had given her. Lyla, the Sound Dragon Slayer, had the freedom to speak.

"Auto suntsitu, abesti sendatzeko," She pronounced. Laxus and the captor were suddenly confused: what language was she speaking?

It did not seem to matter, and the lightning mage's thoughts deviated from confusion to shock when a large, white, shimmering magic circle appeared below his feet. A cool, soothing feeling filtered its way through his bones and he saw a similar circle under Artemis. The little magic power he had lost was replenished, but before his eyes Lyla started losing energy. She gave him one final, apologetic smile before collapsing, her final words being "Self destruct, healing song…"

"Lyla!" He called out, rushing to her side. The voice let out an irritated noise.

"That was not supposed to happened, but no matter." He materialized behind Lyla. Laxus narrowed his eyes. "You!" He darted forward, intent on defeating this man if it was the last thing he did.

"Well I have no more need of you so goodbye," The man said quickly, snapping his fingers and vanishing the instant Laxus punched violently through the empty air. The sudden silence was a small shock to the lightning mage. Laxus slowly turned, examining his surroundings, staring at the run down walls of the building and noting that he was the only living being in the whole structure. The machine was gone as well.

Laxus had been independent for many years, and had embarked on many solo missions, but he had never before felt so alone.

* * *

 **-so maybe I suck at writing action scenes and forgot to tell you**

 **#no regrets**

 **I feel like this is moving a bit too fast but it _is_ only part one, and I'm planning on having (so far) around 3+ parts (since I haven't actually watched the whole FT series yet *hides*) with the 1st part being the shortest and stuffs. **

**sorry i'll shut up now (don't forget to favorite/follow/review!)**

 **-Leaf**


	6. Call of the Dragon

He wanted to scream in frustration. He wanted to destroy the entire warehouse, he wanted to cause it to explode in lightning and electricity. He wanted to fight something.

Instead, he took all the pent up frustration and anger with himself and changed it into fury towards the man who had stolen the two girls he had met at a mages bar.

That pathetic excuse for a man would be lucky to be alive when Laxus was done with him.

* * *

 _Dammit! Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!_ Lyla cursed herself over and over again and struggled against the bindings. They were magic nullifying, but she could also feel her magical power being drained away as she thought of ways to escape. The man was gloating in front of her in that creepy tone of his, but she had long ago tuned out his voice. She didn't need magic to do _that_.

They were in a large empty room, another warehouse perhaps (Lyla cringed at the awful cliche of it all), that had a random kitchen counter on the far wall. She was also sitting -well, more like lying- on the grimy floor, a little fact she was none the happy about.

Artemis was a little more vocal about her annoyance towards the man. And after Lyla's healing/self destruct spell, the redhead was completely energized, and protected from the man's attempts to shut her up. Yes, she was still tied up from before, but if he tried to gag her, a golden light appeared around her body. He was so far unable to make it through said light.

"You creepy, awful, disgusting roach! Just wait 'til I get my hands on your bug-eyed, mushed up excuse for a face! There'll be nothing protecting you then, loathsome little brat!" Artemis spat, struggling against her own binds. Lyla had never been more proud of Artemis's extensive insult vocabulary than at that moment, albit somewhat childish. The singer was in a terrible situation, but it became the slightest bit entertaining when the man foolishly decided to reply.

"Your measly insults won't help you here, whelp."

"Who're you calling a whelp?! I'm no whelp, you urchin! You're pathetic! The devil would be more tasteful, you tacky loser! Ugly noodle troll, you have to copy everyone else in your meager attempts to be evil!" She shot back instantly. He seemed to be taken aback by her strange insults. Lyla smirked to herself painfully, wincing at the continued draw from her magic power. She wasn't being allowed to completely recover the power she lost from her former spell, and the little she had left was being pulled away from her steadily.

Nonetheless, the two hotheads went back and forth in a similar fashion, and a pained laugh escaped from Lyla's body, successfully gaining Artemis's attention.

"Lyla! Are you okay? No, don't answer that, stupid question. When do you think you can escape? Sooner than later, hopefully, these ropes are giving me rope burn. It's unpleasant. But I don't matter, you're in pain, what's going on? Can you not do magic?" Questions leaped from Artemis's mouth like machine gun fire. Lyla managed a small smile to comfort her friend, but the redhead's mouth formed into a thin, unamused line.

"I-" Lyla coughed once, then forced herself to speak. Now was the last time she needed to be weak. "I'm fine. I don't think I can-" She let another cough out. "-escape right now. Laxus will-"

"Laxus will save us? How will he find us? In the meantime, let's get out on our own."

"You two imbeciles realize I can hear your foolish plans? There's no way-"

"Shut up, nobody cares what you think." Artemis proceeded to ignore him and turn all her attention back to Lyla. She physically turned her body (best she could) towards her silver-eyed friend, as the girl was also on the floor alongside Lyla. "Now, we have to get your bindings off so you can do that sound trick and make it so only us two can hear plans. Or you could just whoop his-" Lyla shot her a look and Artemis broke off with a cough.

Lyla's enigmatic friend fell silent for a full two seconds. Then, "Actually, on second thought, waiting for Laxus sounds like a better plan. Because there is no way you can GET OUT OF YOUR BINDS." She put so much emphasis on the last words, Lyla would had smacked her own forehead in exasperation if her hands weren't tied behind her back. Artemis truly did not understand the term _subtlety_. Hopefully the man wouldn't catch on to the redhead's obvious hidden meaning, though Lyla wouldn't put it passed the creep. He wasn't the prettiest serenade in the songbook.

Lyla thought through how to get out. Her hands were crossed behind her back and her legs were folded underneath her. The only body parts she could move freely were her neck and waist. The machine was connected to her through strange clasps on both of her wrists and ankles, and the constant pain throbbed through her arms. It wasn't so much that she couldn't move her arms or legs, however, which was a small miracle.

 _Artemis has a knife._ A small voice in her mind whispered to her. Lyla's expression immediately became unamused, and she was quite unimpressed that the redhead had not figured this out on her own. The singer inconspicuously glanced Artemis's way and gestured to her own ankle. It only took a moment for Artemis to understand, and a sheet of sheepishness lay across her face. Artemis reached, as best she could while bound, into her boot and pulled out the small pocket knife she kept there at all times. Lyla glanced up to make sure the man wasn't becoming suspicious, especially since the two girls were suddenly silent. However, he stupidly seemed to be reveling in the quiet, and hadn't glanced their way in many minutes. Her lip curled slightly; _what kind of pathetic man has managed to kidnap us?_

Lyla's dragon ears picked up the light tap of the knife tip on the concrete ground. She heard the knife slide across the floor, and felt it knick one of her fingers when she attempted to grasp it. She proceeded to turn the thankfully-still-sharp knife around and clasped her hands around the handle, awkwardly angling it to slice through the rough ropes. Artemis was smartly keeping quiet and hadn't shifted her hands to a more comfortable position in fear of giving away she wasn't bound anymore, though with the man turned around, she could have stood up and danced without him noticing.

Lyla felt the satisfying loosening of the ropes surrounding her wrists and quickly went to work on her ankles. The back and forth motion with the knife felt awkward, and her blood and sweat slick on the handle did not help any as it slipped in her hands. The knife slid past the ropes and cut into her skin in a clean yet wide slash across her ankle. Lyla bit her lip to keep from any noise emanating from her mouth, though she wanted to cry out in pain at the sudden flash of red hot pain that laced her ankle. For a moment, the throbbing of the magic-sucking machine disappeared as her body focused on the new wound. She pushed past the want to cry and continued to cut at the ropes, finally succeeding in cutting through the ties around her calves and ankles. She swiftly cut through the tubes connected to the painful metal clasps around her wrists and ankles, successfully getting the man's attention when the power to his machine-thing was cut off with a sudden _hiss_. She sighed in relief and rubbed her wrists, reveling in the lack of magical suction.

"Hey! What- did you get out? How-" He stared at the now-standing girls in bewilderment.

"ECHOING CACOPHONY!" Lyla screamed, unleashing a magic spell that resounded through the entire structure. The man clutched his head, but the golden light around Artemis activated and protected her from the spell.

"You're destroying my whole operation!" The man yelled, holding out his hands in front of him. "Black Corruption!"

Lyla recognized the spell from earlier and leaped out of the way in an attempt to dodge the spell. She almost made it, and most likely would have if not for her bloody ankle, but part of the spell struck her in the calf. Unlike when the ground crumbled beneath Laxus, her leg erupted into pain and took on an ashen tone. She struggled to her feet when the man unleashed another spell. She didn't hear what it was, but it flew her backwards violently and she landed with a smack directly on her back. In the back of her mind she heard an echo of Artemis calling her name out.

"Sound Barrier!" She shouted, frantically holding her hands out in front of her defensively, lying on the floor awkwardly. Three glowing magic circles appeared in a line a body length in front of her, and the man yelled something that was drowned out in the sudden rush of sound. Onlookers would have claimed it sounded like a waterfall and a cheering crowd at the same time, though the kidnapper would beg to differ if the conversation ever came up. Nonetheless, a red spell rushed from the creepy man's hands and struck the barrier, but the malicious attack dissolved into the cacophony of sound.

Lyla forced herself to stand, leaning on the leg she had cut at the ankle earlier. She could barely feel the other one past her knee.

"Lyla!" Artemis yelped, fear tinging her voice. Lyla turned to see shimmering purple binds around her best friend and cursed loudly. In the back of her mind she imagined Laxus's startled expression at her bad mouth, which seemed to amuse her for a split second for some reason. Lyla started to stumble towards her foul-mouthed friend.

"Pig-headed moron! Why'd you go after me? Agh, why can't I get out!" Artemis was livid, her expression twisted into complete fury. Apparently, the spell Lyla had cast earlier had blinked out of existence at the most convenient of times. _Figures._

"Do as I say, or your friend will be like the prey of a boa!" His voice emanated from the various fakes floating around in the air. She narrowed her eyes, annoyed. The ropes of purple tightened almost unnoticeably.

There was a rumble in the distance. The smell of gunpowder surrounded her. Her breath sounded heavy, she was almost panting. Her mouth was parted to take in quick breaths, and she tasted the salty sweat from her upper lip.

"It's simple, really. You just need to shoot that machine over there with dragon slayer magic."

"Never."

"Do you have any regard for friendship?"

Lyla stared into Artemis's face. Though the redhead was trying to hide it, her face gave away that she was in pain. The cord tightened even more.

"Come on. It's just one little spell."

"Artemis…"

"I'm fine," The redhead choked out, spitting on the ground beside her. The saliva was mixed with a suspicious viscous red liquid.

Lyla was suddenly at a loss. She barely even _remembered_ the dragon slayer spells Zara had meticulously taught her. She dug into the recesses of her mind, trying to discover something she could do, something that would help…

" _But I don't even like fighting! It's violent and it hurts and people can die!"_

" _My dear Lyla, fighting is a way of sorting out problems. It may be violent, hurtful and altogether unpleasant, but it is part of every dragon's life. And you are a dragon, are you not?"_

" _Yeah! But I like just singing and making songs that make people happy!"_

" _Lyla, you need to learn offensive spells. But alright, I will start with one you can use with various intonations. You will be able to make a widespread song of joy or a mass destruction of cacophony."_

" _...I think I'll do the singing."_

" _Very well, small one. But remember; sound is not always delightful."_

" _Okay Mama!"_

"Sound Dragon Call! RINGING DISSONANCE!" The words tore from her throat before she knew what was happening. She then proceeded to let out a guttural cry. It unleashed the spell from her center in a growing sphere of sound, affecting everything the orb touched. Artemis writhed in place, trying in vain to reach up and cover her ears. She succeeded when the magic ropes around her withered and fell away, as the man had lost concentration when he found himself surrounded with unnatural noise. Lyla felt- no, _heard_ \- the fakes fade away until there was only one other mage in the structure. He was trembling as he took the brunt of the spell.

The man was in front of her. A large distance separated them, but Lyla could see the wicked smirk that suddenly stretched across his face. He opened his mouth and his eerie, disturbing voice slipped through his lips. "You may think you have won. But look! You merely helped me." In horror, Lyla followed his pointing finger towards the machine, which was buzzing with energy. The man sprinted to the machine and pulled a lever with flourish. The machine started vibrating violently, and a section of it opened up with a _hiss._ Lights started flashing and there was even some smoke to add to the dramatic effect.

A tube about the size of Lyla's arm popped out anticlimactically. The girls stared at it in disbelief. _This_ was what the machine was charging? A large, hollow cylinder?

At least, that's what they thought before he angled it towards them and activated it. They soon learned of the power of the strangely shaped weapon.

It lit up with intricate designs around the barrel and a ball of magic formed at the mouth. Lyla widened her eyes when she felt the magic power which was emanating from the sphere of light.

"Pure dragon slayer magic!" He screamed in malicious delight and shot the ball of magic straight at the girls. For some strange, warped reason, directly towards Artemis, the magicless one in the group.

Time slowed down. Lyla stared at the growing orb as it moved like molasses for what felt like forever. She snapped suddenly to attention and turned to her left. Artemis was standing in shock, frozen in place. Lyla sprinted towards her, horror filling her every thought, as she slammed into the redhead, pushing her violently aside just as the spell reached them.

It exploded onto Lyla as Artemis watched in utter mortification. The world faded in and out, and Lyla was lying still on the floor, eyes wide open and shuddering in pain. She twitched a few times as her nerves registered what just happened, what had just struck her, the magnitude of concentrated dragon slayer magic. Sweat slid down her face.

" _Mama? Why don't I get to see anybody else? I want to make friends!" Lyla whined, her tiny hands clutching the small wooden flute in front of her._

" _We do not affiliate ourselves with other dragons, or their children, for that matter." The graceful dragon swept her head closer to the little white-blonde._

" _But why?" Lyla's stubborn nature had developed already._

" _It is not the way of the dragon to invade other's territory. Besides, most of the children are brutes, and I do not want you picking up any bad habits." Lyla groaned, but could have sworn she picked up Zara muttering "Such as Igneel and Metalicana and their brats."_

" _Hmm." Lyla pondered this for a moment before quickly moving on. "What other kind of dragons are there?"_

" _Dear Lyla, there are many different kinds of dragons. There are the fire dragons, and-"_

" _Is Igneel a fire dragon?" Lyla interrupted. Zara stared at the little human staring inquisitively up at her._

" _Where did you hear that name?" Zara said, shocked._

" _I dunno. I just heard it a while back." Lyla promptly forgot about her former question and began playing a song on her flute._

"LYLA!" a voice was ringing in her head. _I could hear so well back then… maybe I should begin practicing magic again._

Cackling. Wailing. The unmistakable crackle of magic. Her name? Threats. Charging. Increasing magic, _why is it increasing?_

Lyla opened her eyes, unaware that she had closed them in the first place. Pain pulsed through her entire body once, then lulled, as if it were afraid of her retaliating against it. She leaned on one arm and forced herself upright, and, wincing as she brushed a wound she didn't know she had, she pushed herself to her feet. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, ears pricked for sound. She wavered a bit before solidifying where she stood.

"How are you still standing?" The man's voice. He sounded incredulous, and in front of her to her right. "How are you still _alive?!_ " The weapon was charged. She heard the crackling stop growing. If she had to guess, it was once again directed at Artemis. Because he didn't learn the first time.

"...Lyla?" Artemis's voice had never sounded to tiny and fearful. "Are you okay?"

Silence. She never did like the silence.

Lyla opened her eyes, staring directly at the fool who had hurt Artemis. On more than one occasion. "I'm _fine._ "

The man's eyes widened and she heard him stumble back before she saw him fall. Artemis took a sharp breath when she noticed the murderous intent in her best friend's eyes.

"But I… I still…" The man kept stopping his choppy sentences before he finished them, at loss for words as the tall girl limped towards him steadily. "I still…" Finally he seemed to discover what he was trying to say. "I still have this weapon!" He cried out victoriously. Lyla ignored him. She pushed his snakey voice out of her thoughts. It was grating on her mind. She merely glared at the being in front of her.

He shot the powered up weapon dramatically and directly at Lyla, to which she narrowed her eyes further and merely looked peeved.

" _SOUND DRAGON ROAR!_ " She bellowed, unleashing one of the most powerful spells she had ever done. It spun towards the man with malicious intent, coming in contact with his spherical spell midway. Her powerful spell brought the other one to its knees before spiraling onto its next target. Her roar had pushed passed the ball of dragon slayer magic and continued on towards the man, who now held up his arms to defend himself.

Long moments passed. Air flew from her lungs in quiet pants. She stared blankly as the man was assaulted with her spell, and her expression didn't change when the spell faded. He was still standing, but looking a lot more ragged than before. Unfortunately, Lyla had considerably less magic power than she had before her roar. She wasn't going to be able to unleash another spell of that magnitude any time soon.

They stood facing each other, both breathing heavily. It was silent.

The man slowly brought up his weapon again, and started to charge it. She noticed the magic was taking longer to gather together, and guessed this was the last time he could shoot it without recharging it. The only sound was the crackle of the weapon as it continued its mission to transfer magic to the front of the barrel. Lyla stared at the man blankly with her mouth in a firm, unamused line.

"AUGHH!" Artemis appeared behind the man yelling furiously. Lyla widened her eyes and she watched dumbly as Artemis brandished a frying pan and smashed him viciously across the back of his creepy head. His face was frozen in bewilderment as he collapsed like a rag on the hard concrete floor, out cold. A snarky grin stretched across Artemis's exhausted face.

"Aw yeah! That's for kidnapping me, snakey little freak!" She went as far as doing a victory dance next to the collapsed body. Lyla stood stock still. She was attempting to recover from the sudden turn of events, and was silent for a moment longer before exploding into laughter. Artemis wore an incredibly smug expression on her face. What an anticlimactic way to end the battle.

But, she quickly realized, it didn't matter. No, the only thing that mattered was that they were okay, and that they were alive. Everything had flipped for a precarious amount of time, but now everything could go back to normal. Lyla continued to smile and smile, her fatigue a lost thought in the whirl of victory.

* * *

 **Er, sorry for that unannounced temporary hiatus. Whoops. Plus I had to come up with a way for Laxus to not fight the forever unnamed villain, because Laxus is freakishly strong... heh...**

 **Yay for powerful Lyla! (And Artemis, who knew frying pans would be so effective?)**

 **Until next time (don't forget to favorite/follow/review!),**

 **-Leaf**


	7. Aftermath

"Laxus! My man, my main man! Wassup!" Artemis was exceptionally cheery when Laxus found the girl's limping away from the building that was, definitely, another abandoned warehouse. Honestly, that man had to be the most pitiful villain to ever walk the earth.

"Er…" Laxus blinked, his fury starting to drain into confusion when he saw the two girls free and alive.

"We're great! That was great! Kinda painful, and I think Lyla died for a few minutes, but she's alright now!" Laxus stiffened noticeably at Artemis's claim.

"I was unconscious, moron." Lyla muttered, leaning heavily on Artemis for support. Laxus narrowed his eyes, examining the two for lethal injuries. Lyla had lost the victorious glint in her eyes and was now understandably quite cranky.

"Yeah, okay. Laxus, you should've seen Lyla! She was so powerful! It was amazing!" Artemis moved on quickly, her eyes shining in excitement. They stopped walking once they were directly in front of the bemused dragon slayer.

"I don't _feel_ amaz- ow! Artemis, watch it!" Lyla snapped, pulling away from her exuberant friend. She stumbled without the shoulder to lean on and Laxus reached out instinctively with one arm to steady her. Lyla growled in frustration, angry that she couldn't feel her calf and that her other foot still pulsed. She was tired, in pain, and annoyed. _Why is Artemis so cheerful right now?_ she grumbled to herself. She could barely stand up on her own anymore.

"We need to get you two checked out." Laxus started to draw away. Lyla gritted her teeth and took a determined step forward, only to stumble and have Laxus catch her again. He stared at her silently, question in his gaze.

"It's only because I can't feel my damn foot," Lyla muttered, leaning heavily on his arm as she righted herself. "And that shot took everything out of me."

Laxus stiffened, then turned his gaze to the warehouse. "Did you leave him in there?" Anger tinged his words.

"Yeah. He's out cold. But-" Artemis started, only to stare as Laxus disappeared in a flash of lightning. Lyla stumbled to the ground without her leaning post and narrowed her eyes. Her temper was on a short fuse from the former events, and the fact that it seemed like Laxus had forgotten about them in his fury towards the man didn't sit well.

However, Laxus reappeared with a _crack_. He threw the man to the ground, who was waking up slowly after the vicious hit from Artemis's frying pan (which was still clenched protectively in her hands). The man groaned and brought his hand to his forehead, but yelped in terror when he caught sight of the angered lightning mage in front of him. He slowly turned and saw a ticked off dragon slayer lying on the ground and a determined redhead with a frying pan held tightly between her hands.

"Mercy!" He squeaked. Laxus scowled, but Lyla wasn't, for once, angry with her kidnapper.

"Laxus Dreyar, if you don't take him to the jail and come back in less than one minute, _so help me,_ I will personally be the cause of your sudden lack of hearing," She glowered at the large mage. Though she was still lying propped up on the solid earth, Lyla was still terrifying while furious. And nobody wants to mess with an angry dragon slayer. And though Laxus would never admit it, he was inwardly recoiling at the sight of the infuriated mage.

Instead, he carefully placed an indifferent expression on his face and shrugged. "Fine. But that doesn't mean he's off the hook."

"Fine, whatever, just- just don't beat him up here. I've seen enough pain to last me a lifetime." Lyla suddenly deflated, pressing a hand to her face and letting out a deep sigh. This was more than she was expecting out of life. Her emotions weren't sure how to keep up, and the dragon in her wanted to give in to fury and fighting while the rest of her wanted to stay on the more peaceful side.

"Lyla?"

She gazed upwards tiredly. "Yeah, Art?"

"Are you okay?"

Lyla stared into her friend's eyes. They showed concern and worry, and her frying pan was dangling at her side instead of clutched tightly in her hands. Lyla knew this was a rare moment of seriousness.

She thought about the question. Was she okay? She hurt everywhere, still couldn't feel her leg passed her knee, and was out of magic power. She could barely stand on her own, let alone walk. And yet…

"I'm fine." She smiled softly at her friend, pushing aside all of her annoyances. They were safe, and the threat was gone.

Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

It took more than few days to recover. Magic helped the feeling come back to Lyla's leg, and everyone's wounds were stitched up. The man was in jail with quite a few more bruises than Lyla or Artemis remembered, and he was suspiciously spotted with electric burns. They never asked Laxus if he did punish the man personally for kidnapping the two and attempting to kill them.

Artemis was more than happy to regale Laxus with the tales of their adventure, while Lyla just wanted to rest. However, it was only a matter of time before she got caught up in Artemis's excitement and was relaying the best moments of the fight. He humored them and listened to the story time and time again, each retelling a little different. He realized that it didn't matter what really happened, and all that mattered was that they got out safely and with their cheery personalities in tact.

"I have decided to take a backpack of instruments everywhere I go," Lyla announced one evening, stalking into the living room with a pack in hand. Laxus glanced up from his hand of cards. Artemis was determined to win against the older mage, and had yet to succeed.

"That's an awesome idea, Ly. Don't forget that flute of yours." Artemis bit her lip in concentration and carefully laid out her play. Laxus held back a smirk as he lay his hand down, winning the game.

"FRICK!" Artemis shouted, falling backwards onto the ground. "It's freaking impossible to win! What the even…? Where did you learn these freaky skills, man?" Laxus allowed a laugh to escape his lips as he cleaned up the cards, having flashbacks of the intense Fairy tournaments. They never did anything halfway.

"You playin' again?" He asked with a level voice.

"Hell yeah. I'll beat you eventually, sparky. Statistics say I have to win at one point!" She popped upright again, then seemed to consider something. "...but I'm getting a beer first."

Lyla laughed and placed the last instrument in her bag. She experimentally swung it on her shoulder and nodded to herself. Everything had gone back to normal. She and Art were already back to work, though the owner- Charlie Berkley- mercifully said they could ease their way back in after their ordeal.

Her gaze swept the room. Laxus was shuffling the cards an excessive amount of times while waiting for Artemis, who was in the kitchen pouring drinks for everyone. Lyla smiled to herself. Laxus was basically part of the family now. They had even started calling the office his room, since there was a stationary spring mattress in there with all of his things. She felt her heart swell. Her family had grown, and she had never been so happy.

Three more card games later, Artemis gave up and threw the cards everywhere in frustration. Lyla and Laxus alike laughed at the redhead's exasperation, who glared at them equally, claiming they were the worst friends in the world, to which Lyla told her teasing was a requirement in sisterhood. The deadpan look given to the singer caused her to crack up once again before collecting herself and travelling to the kitchen to make dinner.

"Laxus, I'm bored." Artemis proclaimed loudly, picking up the cards she had strewn across the living room.

"How unfortunate." He commented dryly, SoundPod plugged in and settled on his ears.

"I expect you to entertain me, sparky." She placed the cards on the coffee table with a snapping sound.

"You expect incorrectly."

"Okay okay, I got a really good knock knock joke: you start." Artemis stared at the lightning mage to see if he got the joke. She received a raised eyebrow for her troubles.

"Fine, party pooper. But I actually have a good knock knock joke. Ready? Okay, so knock knock."

"Come in." Laxus smirked to himself while Artemis huffed in frustration, glaring at the blonde. "Fine, who's there?" She lit up with a grin, and continued dramatically.

"What's up wit?"

"What's up wit who?"

"Nothin' much, what's up wit'cho?" She cackled as the joke registered in Laxus's mind. An outsider would not have noticed the change in Laxus's demeanor, but Artemis noticed the inexplicable twitch of the side of his mouth and him suppressing the small grin and settle on a dry look. She didn't care if all he did was sarcastically glare at her, she had gotten the almost-smile she had been looking for. Lyla walked back into the room, food cooking in the kitchen.

"Hey Art, have you finished the paint- mph!" Lyla widened her eyes when Artemis clamped her hand over the singer's mouth, giving her a warning glare.

"I told you not to say anything!"

Lyla gave her a deadpan stare. "You told me, word for word: 'It doesn't matter, it's not that good anyway.' Sound familiar?"

"Well, yeah, but I followed that up with enacting code orange!"

"Code orange? That has to do with food claiming, not whatever-happens-in-this-room-stays-there! That's code purple!"

"Oh, really?" A thoughtful expression settled on Artemis's features. "I always get those two mixed up."

"How?" Lyla threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "Orange and purple are as far apart as you can get!"

"Yellow and purple, actually." Laxus couldn't help but add, finding their argument to be amusing. Lyla shot him a look that screamed _Not helping._

"See? Laxus has my back. Yellow and purple are opposites, you uncultured swine." Artemis swung an arm around Laxus's shoulders which was shrugged off pretty quickly. Undaunted, Artemis threw her arm around Lyla's neck, who let out a sigh. A sudden small smile tugged at her lips, but before the other two could question it, she announced that the food was ready and the arguments about colors were forgotten.

* * *

 **Yikes! Time really flies, it seemed only yesterday that I updated last, but then I check the dates and it's been six days!**

 **Have a little recovery and life in the Lyla/Artemis/Laxus household. Larxus?**

 **As always, don't forget to follow/favorite/review. Thank you to all of you who have and still review, I love reading them all! It really lights up my day and encourages me to update/write (not-so-subtle-hint).**

 **Until next time (which won't be that long),**

 **-Leaf**


	8. Gone

***screeches* sorry sorry sorry for more than one thing (like lateness and shortness and you'll figure out the rest)**

* * *

Artemis bit her lip in concentration, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear absent-mindedly as she carefully brushed some yellow in the forefront of the canvas, shaping it in the likes of a lightning bolt. There was some quiet music going in the background to keep in from becoming too silent, and the pale streaks of silver light sifted through the windows, the half moon shining brightly beyond the glass.

Wind brushed past her from an open window sitting across the room from the moon, shifting her clothes lightly as she gently washed her brush out and chose a new color. This time a vibrant purple, she cast it onto the background, knowing the explosion of opposition would help balance the painting out. Too much yellow did nothing but blind the viewer, and she wanted this one to be special, so she was being extra meticulous about it.

She let out a breath that she hadn't known she was holding when the dark outline of the main focus of the painting was finished. Now all she needed was to add some more base color to the face and hair before she could concentrate on the details. Just as she was about to exchange the tool she was using for a better suited brush, a flash of movement caught her eyes, and her former experience with being snuck up on tugged nastily on her memories. Without hesitation she flung what she was holding in the general direction of the movement, which happened to be her wetted paintbrush. It smacked into something with a splat and landed innocently on the floor. With further examination, Artemis realized she had assaulted the curtains that were delicately swaying in the gentle breeze from the open window. She let out an angry breath and stomped over to close the window that was to blame for her near heart attack.

"Congratulations, you just killed some curtains." She nearly screamed when she heard the voice from behind her and she spun, raising her hands in self-defence, when she noticed it was only Laxus. Her relief channeled into some frustrated, embarrassed anger.

"Don't _do_ that," She scolded him, slamming the window shut. The perpetrator himself shrugged, then turned his gaze to the propped canvas.

"And what-?" He started.

"Don't look at that!" She then shrieked, flying over to the stand and covering her work of art with her body protectively. "It's not done yet!" He merely raised an eyebrow and she sighed.

"Yes I know it's three in the morning, I get inspiration at the worst times, yes you will see it eventually, no it's not anything inappropriate, I didn't think you would come down here, it was supposed to be a pre-"

"I didn't know you painted," Laxus interrupted, knowing she would ramble on for hours if he didn't stop her. She paused and contemplated his statement for a moment with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Yeah, I guess we never did tell you. I paint whenever I get inspiration, and I suppose I'm rather decent at it after so much practice, Lyla does tell me it's really well done and full of emotion…" She trailed off when she noticed his eyes settle on a certain piece of art she had done a few days after the kidnappings. She flinched when his gaze fell on hers, full of question and, unnervingly, understanding. The usually energetic redhead slowly moved her head towards the dark painting. It was full of purple, with red, unblinking eyes that shone from the depths of the color. Darkness was emanating from a pastel figure which was lying on what seemed to be the floor, and it didn't take Laxus long to figure out the figure represented the sleeping singer upstairs.

"Sometimes I get my inspiration from frightening places," Artemis whispered, feeling incredibly vulnerable and like she was laying out her soul to be judged. Her paintings represented who she was, and nobody -save for Lyla- had ever seen them before. Eventually she closed her eyes, unable to stare at the horrible painting any longer. She was not sure why she had not already burned the torturous thing, as it made her depressed every time she looked at it. She had thought that Lyla had died and that she was alone with the freakish man. Lyla, her best friend, basically her sister, the one who had been with her through it all… gone. Artemis had never before felt so fearful of her life, regardless if she lived through the experience or not. For a few brief, long minutes, Artemis's existence had been completely destroyed.

A hand touched her shoulder and brought her back to reality. Grateful for the physical contact, she studied Laxus's stormy blue-green eyes as if they could solve all of her problems. He searched her gaze silently, attempting to discover whether or not she had drawn herself out of the dark corner she seldom visited. Artemis's face softened as she realized that she was not alone, that her friends were there for her to help her through the tough times. Laxus was not going anywhere anytime soon, especially if Artemis had anything to say about it. He was their family now, whether he liked it or not.

A very Artemis-like grin suddenly overtook her face, and the serious -yet saddeningly dark- moment was gone, causing Laxus to let out a relieved breath of air. "I got a really good drawing of Lyla, wanna see it?" She then waited for half a second before trying to drag Laxus through the cellar where she kept her painting and drawing tools. He allowed himself to be carted to a table that was covered in random sketches, drawings and paintings. The painter shuffled some stained papers around, searching with renewed vigor. Finally she held up a painting on thick paper exuberantly, dramatically presenting it to Laxus. He gently took the rough paper, originally only to humor her, when he caught sight of the picture itself.

Artemis watched in fascination as the dragon slayer's usually stoic face transformed into something like awe, causing her to mentally squeal in excitement, knowing how hard it was to get Laxus impressed.

His eyes scanned the paper with wonder. It was a crude image of Lyla, drawn vaguely on purpose, with a flute in her hands. She was playing it with her eyes closed, hair swaying in the imaginary wind as music notes flowed from the instrument and off to the right of the painting where the soothing warm colors of the sky behind became more obvious. It was really well done, enacting what Artemis proudly called "artist's liberty".

"You can keep it if you want," She proclaimed, leaning against the table delightedly. The cellar was enveloped in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, a sleepy feeling overtaking both of them, showing more obviously on Artemis. Suddenly an idea struck the painter and she grinned lethargically.

"Laxus, the price for that painting is giving me a piggy back ride back upstairs," She commanded him. He raised an eyebrow in her direction, amused at her order. "Please?" She added with a pleading expression. Laxus let out a breath and, astonishingly, complied to her request, feeling amiable and uncharacteristically complaisant at that moment. Besides, he felt that the redhead needed a pick me up, literal or not.

Regardless, he crouched down for her to yelp in excitement and jump on his back. He stood up and started the trek upstairs. To his complete amusement, by the time they reached her room, she was out cold. _You owe me one_ , he thought as he opened the door to her abode. He had half a mind to just throw her onto her bedspread, but he instead placed her gently down and hesitated before drawing the blanket over her figure. She let out a deep sigh in her sleep and turned over, and Laxus took that as his cue to leave. He entered the guest room, now his room if the three were being honest with themselves, and a warm feeling enveloped his chest.

He wasn't one to be sappy or nostalgic, but he was feeling extra sentimental in that moment. Memories of living with and hanging out with the two girls flashed through his mind, along with -strangely- memories of Fairy Tail. The blonde furrowed his brow as he changed into bedclothes. It had been a while since he had thought of his good memories pertaining to his former guild, and a few of Gramp's ending words suddenly came back to him: _"Life is to be enjoyed, you know."_ His mind subconsciously affiliated that statement with befriending the girls. He then remembered the fact that he was the considered "heir" to Fairy Tail, or at least he used to be. Laxus furrowed his brows in confusion; it had been ages since he had even considered being the heir. A certain thought struck his brain and nervous, excited terror rushed through his body. Before he acknowledged the pounding need in his soul, before he considered the destination in his mind, he whipped out the painting of Lyla and stared at it regretfully before grabbing a pen and scrawling a vague, most likely terrifying message on the back saying something along the lines of _I'm sorry_ and _redemption with family_ and he even threw in an _I love you both_ in his frantic writing and didn't question the impulse. He left the painting on his bed and sat down with his head in his hands, finally addressing the sudden pull of Fairy Tail beating through his core.

 _What is this stirring in my heart…?_

* * *

Lyla dropped her precious wooden flute to the floor and screamed Artemis's name hysterically, the redhead downstairs frantically painting with a distressed air, as she saw the earth-shattering words flicker across the screen innocently:

 _"Tenroujima island wiped off the map, Fairy Tail mages missing in action!"_

* * *

End of Part One.


	9. Dreams

_**Part II**_

* * *

 _She's running through the forest. Light which filters through the leaves and needles above dapples the soft, pine covered earth. Her feet make little to no sound, and her breaths come in fast pants._

 _Why was she running? The reason was not obvious, but she was sprinting in a specific direction, with a set destination in mind. She leaps over a log and maneuvers her way around a rather large rock, but never slows. The trees start to thin, and she runs faster, faster as the looming trees start to disappear and she finds herself in a wide open grassy field. She neglects to admire the view and continues her journey, ignoring anything and everything around her, her mind on one thing only._

 _A hill appears in front of her and relieved excitement shows blatantly on her face. She slows for a few seconds, but speeds up afterwards when a silhouette shows on the top of a hill. The outline is barrel-chested and is crossing their thick arms. The girl, while she should be exhausted from full on sprinting for extended amounts of time, inexplicably speeds up._

 _Sudden golden light shone on the outline, showing a sharp jawline, a soft smirk, and tufts of blonde hair. The clothes on his muscular frame ruffled in the slow breeze. The girl's face brightened with exhilaration, but also with a tinge of fear. She reached halfway up the hill and blanched, but did not falter in her step; rather, her strides lengthened._

 _A forlorn expression settled on the man's face, the smirk fading into a mere memory. His body shimmered, as if he were a mirage, and he started to fade. She cried out in pain and horror, choking and stumbling up the hill to reach him before he was gone, before he left her alone, solitary on the hill, again. His image was like clear, rippling water, fading in and out. She could see the stretching cloudless blue sky behind him, through him, the horizon line cutting through his body like a badly painted picture._

 _She made it to the top of the hill, finally sputtering to an abrupt halt and reaching for the fading man, who disappeared into the wind just as she wrapped her fingers around where his arm is supposed to be. Her arm fell through and she collapsed on the swaying grass, tears dripping from her uniquely silver eyes, crying for the man she always tried to save but always failed._

* * *

"Charlie, I'm really sorry, but we don't think we can stay here anymore." Lyla shuffled awkwardly in place, finally blurting out what she had come to say. The owner of the bar paused in his sorting.

"And why is that?" He asked simply. He did not sound angry or sad, but was merely intrigued.

"We… well, everything… since Laxus left, everything…" Lyla tried to explain, attempting to find the right words to reason her and Artemis bailing. Every time she walked into their apartment, she saw Laxus lounging on the couch or chair. Every time she approached the stage in the bar she saw herself giving Laxus a concert and finally succeeding in getting him to sing with her. Every time she walked through downtown she saw Artemis, Laxus and herself shopping (Laxus more or less was forced on that particular occasion). She saw them playing in the fountain, Laxus laughing and getting more than a little wet as the two girls splashed around.

She saw him everywhere, and it was driving her insane.

"I think I understand what you are getting at." An easy grin fell on Charlie's face as he turned towards the struggling girl. "I also understand the need to get away. Though I will miss you, you know."

She gaped at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish. Shock showed clearly on her face, as she never was a master at masking her emotions. "You're letting us-"

"Of course, you will visit me, correct? You both should be glad I have other family to attend to, otherwise you would be all I had." The man chuckled lightly to himself, purposefully oblivious to Lyla's short-circuiting brain. "When will you be leaving?"

"Uh… we weren't sure… whether or not you would agree." She finally sputtered out, mentally cursing Artemis and her persuasive skills. The mischievous girl really did have a silver tongue.

"Well, I can't keep you two cooped up here forever, can I? There was, inevitably, going to be a point when you two were going to leave. I'm honestly surprised it didn't happen sooner." He mused to himself, resuming his tedious task of sorting.

She was silent for a few more moments, fully wrapping her brain around everything when her face suddenly lit up with excitement. "Thank you so much, Charlie!" She wrapped her arms around the man's neck swiftly and bounded out of the room, calling out behind her, "We'll probably be leaving as soon as we can! Thank you!"

He chuckled to himself and continued his monotonous chore, while Lyla sprinted up the stairway to her apartment with exhilaration. She flung open the door and proclaimed with bright eyes, "He's not mad at us for leaving, Art!" She had already forgotten to be frustrated with her troublesome friend.

"Woo! Time to get packing, girl! This'll be a long search!" Said mischievous friend shot up from her lazy position on the couch. Neither girl mentioned that Artemis had been in the same position and spot Laxus would always take up when he lounged at their place, which was often since he had basically lived there.

Lyla wandered into her room and started packing up her belongings, deciding to leave many of the things in the apartment. Charlie most likely wouldn't be moving anyone else into their apartment anyway, so worry quickly left her mind. She had many other things to think about at that moment.

She flitted around her room, occasionally darting out to grab something from somewhere else in the house. Her lithe figure paused when it reached towards a whistle on her bed stand, her silver eyes staring unblinkingly at the shining silver object resting next to her small instrument. It was Columba, key of the dove, one of Laxus's few mementos he left behind. Her mind instantly went to the early days of their friendship, when he was forced to spend many days with the girls and she had dragged him around the marketplace. Without hesitation, she shoved the key into her pack. And though she was not aware of it at the time, the little key would have an impact on future events.

"You done, Art?" Lyla called out once she dragged her pack to the living room. She had the mind to pack a sleeping mat and other necessities for camping, as they were planning to be gone for a while.

"Almost!" The painter's voice echoed through the house, and only a minute later she came wobbling into the room to join her friend, pack in hand. "Whoo-ee, I'm going to get some muscle after this trip!" The redhead dramatically wiped her brow and Lyla rolled her eyes at her friend's display. Artemis's eyes fell on Lyla's second bag for a second before recognition lit up in her gaze and she moved her eyes to the room they had spent their life in. Lyla herself tightened her grip on the smaller backpack that contained all of her intack instruments, the source of much of her magical ability.

They scoured the room for anything else they may need, eyes brushing over the seat their dragon slayer friend often took up, and were silent as they gazed out the window at the risen sun, making them realize it was only noon. They had packed much faster than they had thought.

The girls eventually turned towards each other, staring solemnly and reflecting on their past experiences. They had decided the day of his disappearance that they would go searching for him, though they were ashamed to admit that they had not acted on their pact until two weeks had flown by.

Hazel eyes stared into silver (Lyla had given up the contacts but still packed them, just in case) and the seconds ticked by. Neither girl made any move towards the door, nor did they speak. A few thumps sounded from the bar below as the rest of the world went about their business, unknowing of the impact the disappearance of the most powerful mages in Fairy Tail had on Magnolia, which was the town over. The girls themselves were unaware of the similar thoughts running through the remaining mages of the most well known guild in Fiore, a few of them mourning, many of them stubbornly refusing to believe their family was gone. After all, the news report simply said _missing,_ not _confirmed dead_.

Regardless, the silence stretched on until Artemis opened her mouth, a rare serious expression settled on her features.

"I sent it." That was all she said, and it was all she needed to say, for Lyla understood her instantly and nodded, attempting a smile as she straightened up. The singer took a deep breath before throwing her pack over her shoulders, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Ready, sister?" Lyla said, giving Artemis a crooked half-smile. Artemis returned the expression with one of her famous smirks and shouldered her own pack.

"I was born ready."

They steeled themselves, both taking silent deep breaths, then walked out the door.

* * *

Their first night passed without a hitch, beneath the navy starry skies and whispering canopy of leaves. They had settled in between two towering oaks as Lyla enacted a sound spell that silenced everything inside the spell boundaries. She wished she knew how to make them invisible, but that was outside the range of her capabilities. Their bodies lay next to each other in silence, despite the half day of walking having passed by filled with jest and laughter. Noises of the forest around them echoed quietly as the two girls faded slowly into sleep.

* * *

 _Hey… well, Artemis is doing this too, and, well, they said it would help with coping… I'm not sure how, though._

 _We've been travelling for a few weeks. It's pretty fun, if you look at it from the surface. It's hard to survive without a job, but I do singing gigs and Artemis does bar tricks. She hasn't painted in a while… I can see her tracing with her finger, though, so I think she misses it. I don't infuse magic into my songs when I sing to others anymore. Turns out I have a good singing voice regardless of magic. Funny, huh?_

 _I just… I miss you so much. I can't live like this forever, so please come back, okay? Come back to us._

 _Your friend, Lyla._

 _It kinda helped last time I wrote to you, so I'm trying it again. Well, wrote to you in general terms, since you won't ever get these._

 _Wow. I just realized. You won't ever get these. I can write whatever I want and nobody will care._ _ **Nobody will see the pain in which I write with. Why**_ _did this happen?_

 _I'm sorry. I got a little frustrated with myself._

 _Why am I apologizing to paper?_

 _Whatever._

 _Your sad family, Lyla._

 _Dammit, I miss you. I miss you more than I've ever missed anything. That's a lie. I think I missed Zara more, but I can't even think anymore, the two disappearances are running together…_

 _No, this will be a happy message. A happy letter, Laxus. I need to tell you what's going on._

 _We met a man named Curtis. He promised to train us in 'the art of swordfighting'. Artemis told him she would get so good she would be able to skewer him on her sword and stick him to a tree. It didn't go over well and I had to split them up again._

 _Curtis is our age, I think, but I don't trust him yet. He speaks in this weird way, and I don't think his real name is Curtis. Artemis calls him Curt and I think he wants to strangle her every time she does._

 _I don't know why he is still teaching us. Truthfully, I have no clue._

 _Well, that's all for this update._

 _Yours, Lyla._

 _Wow… I haven't written in a while. A lot has happened, and this may be the longest letter yet. By the way, I'm keeping all of these letters for when you return, so you can read them then. I hope you find them entertaining and informational, though most of my writings have been about missing you and bemoaning about… stuff._

 _Regardless, it's been a year since you disappeared. Curtis is gone, but he taught us much. Mainly Artemis, since I spent most of the time strengthening my magical power. I have learned quite a few new spells already, and I wish I did not wait so long to begin my training. I am a dragon slayer, after all, and I know that I am nowhere near being able to kill a dragon._

 _Wow. I don't think I'll ever kill a dragon, which I am okay with. My draconian nature calls for action and adventure, which I'm getting plenty of._

 _There's an idea floating around the newspaper of something called the Grand Magic Games. I'm not sure what it is, since Artemis and I rarely stay long enough in towns to get credible news, so it may be just a rumor. Fairy Tail… is not doing very good. With their strongest members gone, they are losing business and money fast. That news we do keep track of, though it is heartrending to do so. I have thought about joining, but…_

 _Artemis and I have not given up on finding you. We will find you, and we'll bring you home. To Fairy Tail, which was always your true home._

 _Hopefully yours, Lyla._

 _We can't find you. Anywhere. It's been so long… we're losing hope, Laxus. Where are you? You can't be dead, they say you're dead, but you're too strong… they say the island is gone, but where are you? You can't have disappeared along with the island, right? Gone, like the mirage in all of my nightmares._

 _Where are you?_

 _Two years. Two years… actually, if the date is correct, it's almost three… we have been training, for something, who knows what, but training. Artemis found another sword fighter, though she discovered that she prefers knives, and they train together every day. We've settled in a town for a few months, and we aren't sure where we're going next. Every day I deepen my magic storage, and I'm no longer the weakling you once knew._

 _That is a lie. I am still me in spirit, just… broken. My spirit is broken, Laxus, and I'm not sure how to fix it._

 _Artemis and I have not argued in weeks, months, maybe it has been a year… time is running together now. Every day is grey, and we need to find something to fill our hours with before the night consumes us and we remember summer days in the fountains, winter days in the snow, autumn days with sweaters and spring days with flowers everywhere you turn. You're in our memories, Laxus, and we can't seem to get over it. Because you aren't gone._

 _It's getting harder and harder to believe that. Please come home._

 _Losing hope, Lyla._

* * *

A mere few weeks after Tenroujima disappeared off the face of Earthland, Fairy Tail received something in the mail.

The guild itself was in mourning. Most of the members were still there, but many had started to leave the guild for better, stronger, newer guilds. The dedicated members stayed, of course, and would stay forever if they had to. But it didn't stop the depression from taking over, as the guild members thought about their friends, their family, their guild mates who lived with them, laughed with them, and cried with them.

One day, the morning dreary and grey like their spirits, Laki stepped outside into the chill morning air to collect any mail. Letters were no longer delivered to their doorstep since Makarov left, as many did not respect Macao as the new master. She gather up the notes and trudged back inside, throwing the papers onto the bar without much thought. Then, realizing that she had nothing better to do, she plopped herself down onto the bar stool, remembered Mirajane's bright cheery way of bartending with a wince, and started filtering through the mail.

Much of it was expenses or other unwanted notes from the Magic Council, which she sorted into a pile for Macao to look through later. There was a little fan mail, though much less than usual, and many letters questioning what had happened to the once obnoxious guild.

There was one letter on the bottom of the pile, last of the bunch, that was from an anonymous sender. Not thinking anything of it, Laki opening up the envelope monotonously and slid the contents out in front of her, freezing in place as she unfolded the thick parchment.

"Master!" She called out, eyes wide. Macao grumbled an annoyed sounding "What?" in her direction, busily drowning himself in booze, but she swiftly gained his attention. She then forced him to stare at the paper they had received, which he was equally astonished at. Before long, the entire guild -those that considered it their family, anyway- had circled the lilac-haired girl.

"Who sent it?" Droy asked.

"Anonymous." She replied, holding the paper like it was a gift from heaven.

"Why?"

There was no answer. Because nobody could explain the side view portrait of Laxus Dreyar's head and neck, the smallest of smiles on his face, with lightning flickering across his features and over the purplish backdrop.

* * *

 **Ugh. I rewrote this chapter way too many times, and I still don't really like how it turned out...**

 **On the other hand, sorry for the delay... I knew there would be a slightly longer wait than usual since it _is_ Part II now... but it turned out to be way longer than I intended ^^**

 **-Leaf**


	10. Unexpected Visitors

**Crackin' hell, it's already been a month. Sorry y'all, been a bit of a dry spell in regards to inspiration, I'll try to move things along so we can get back to the important things in life... like Laxus...**

* * *

Four years. That was how long it had been… four years. Lyla and Artemis seemed to have gotten over it outwardly, but how can someone get over a family death if they never believed he was dead in the first place? It was a battle of hopelessness and hope, of determination and defeat. A constant cycle they continued, attempting to distract themselves from thinking about their favorite Fairy Tail mage, failing at the late hours of the night when all was silent except for their racing thoughts.

Regardless, it seemed like the two were back to what could be considered normal, although they seemed a little more subdued. Action was rare, and they unknowingly longed for a deviation from the norm. They were on the road again, tracing roads they had already covered simply because they did not know what else to do.

"Yo, try that new thing with the animals," Artemis said one evening, leaning against a tree with her sleeping pack set up underneath her crossed legs.

"Sure." Lyla complied, opening her mouth and letting a soothing song leave her lips, a compilation that had very little words but sounded like nature and rushing streams. Before long, there was a small audience of squirrels perched in the trees, a few deer peeking from behind trees, birds landing on branches in curiosity, and even a bear lumbered out from the woods, benign as ever. The prey were not afraid of the predator, and they all felt strangely safe as a result of the notes emanating from the human with silvery eyes.

Her song came to a slow end and she examined the effects of the magic. The animals silently stared back at her, still in revere of the song. Then, in unison, the animals crooned in their language, returning Lyla's gift of sound with their own form of applause and a show. In particular, a peculiar bird with a orange marking on his chest seemed to want to prove his worth, and chirped fervently. He hopped from branch to branch, getting closer then farther, as if afraid of Lyla's reaction. Curious, she sang a few notes to the bird, who tweeted the notes back. A smile broke across Lyla's face, and the bird flapped off the branch and circled their set up a few times before landing next to her. The singer cautiously reached out a hand and tapped the bird lightly on the crown of it's head. It let a happy little peep out, jumped a few times, and flew up to her head and settled into her hair. Lyla's eyes flew open in surprise, and Artemis stifled her laughter, not wanting to scare the animals.

Now that the music had stopped, the squirrels twittered to themselves and leaped down the trees, scuttering around to find food. The deer startled and bounded away at the sight of the bear, who had gone on all fours and was snuffling at the earth. He lumbered away after a few seconds. The birds in the air tweeted to themselves and spread out on the trees surrounding, but apparently decided to stay put. The bird with the orange marking stayed settled in Lyla's hair, but it wasn't very comfortable for the dragon slayer, so she reached up and gently removed the small creature from the top of her head. It twittered at her from her palm before suddenly taking flight and disappearing into the canopy.

"What a funny little bird," Lyla commented, moving towards her sleeping bag. Artemis snickered and Lyla shot her redheaded friend an unamused look.

"It's just… you're so dainty!" Artemis full out laughed, closing her eyes and holding her stomach while keeping the image of Lyla holding the bird in her mind.

"You didn't call me dainty when I ate that pot of stew and a loaf of bread," Lyla commented airily, referencing when they were offered a free meal after saving the town from a couple monsters. They had not eaten all day and Lyla had been rather hungry, and her dragon appetite decided to rear it's head at that moment. That pot of stew had not been exactly small.

Artemis turned towards her friend with wide eyes. "Damn, girl! I know you eat a lot, but that was a _lot!_ "

"Shut up." Lyla instantly regretted bringing up that particular memory and turned over so she didn't have to stare at her friend's gaze that was filled, strangely, with admiration. "Go to sleep."

"Whatever, pig."

"Drunkard."

And with those kind words, the two fell into rest made comfortable from sleeping so often on the hardened earth. There they rested with tranquility, the soft sounds of the forest surrounding them. Night creatures darted about, not bothering the women and nibbling on the fruits and nuts they had strewn about for the squirrels and birds.

Unfortunately, nocturnal animals were not the only creature stalking about, and some thieves had set their eyes upon the women's camp. There were three of them, and they expertly snuck into the camp whilst keeping their gaze on their things and the girl's bodies themselves, making sure they did not awaken.

Two other beings crept through the night, and sighted the thieves swiftly. They started making their way towards the camp and noticed it was occupied by two women, lighting a strange (and rare) sense of chivalry in them.

Lyla heard the thieves. However, she was sleeping, and her body did not want to wake up, though part of her mind was screaming that something was wrong. As she not only had her dragon slayer enhanced ears, but from all of her training she could hear things from up to miles away. She moaned inaudibly where she lay and almost stirred, but the thieves froze in their place and her sleepy mind considered the sound to be a mere animal.

A stick cracked and her eyes flew open to see a bright spell slam into an intruder, a second thief being taken down by a shadowy figure just as swiftly. Bewildered, she instinctively enacted a spell around her and Artemis that was essentially a smaller, circular version of _Sound Barrier_. The light faded from the first spell that had been cast and she strained her ears. There were two sets of footsteps, and the owners sounded to be about average height. There was confidence in every step. She concentrated for a second and tentatively assumed they were male from the heavy sound of their footfall.

Her concentration broke and she started when one figure slammed directly into her circular barrier, falling to his butt with a startled exclamation. The other figure had stopped directly in front of it and sighed in annoyance at his -assuming it was a his- companion.

"What the hell was that?" The first person complained, holding his forehead. Breath rushed from the other person's lips in an almost silent sigh.

"Who are you?" She called out against her better judgement. _You have a spell in place, and you know magic,_ she told herself.

"She's awake!" The first -now obviously male- voice declared. Lyla blinked and tried to make out the two in front of her visually. It was still pitch dark, the sliver of a moon hidden by the trees.

"Sting. Light." An equally low voice spoke, monotone with a hint of annoyance.

"Oh yeah!" 'Sting' replied exuberantly. Lyla shielded her eyes and blindly shifted in place when a suddenly bright light appeared. The singer's eyes peeked from behind her hands and saw two men standing half a dozen feet in front of her, directly behind her spell. Well, one was standing, the other was still seated on the ground from his fall. The blonde man on the ground had a sphere of light surrounding one of his hands.

Lyla glanced at her friend, who was still snoring away. _God, she can sleep through a war._

Her eyes darted back to the two men, who were staring at her silently. She very nearly let out a scared " _eep!_ " but she composed herself and drew herself up, though she didn't stand. "And you two are?"

There was a few moments of silence, then, "You're welcome for saving you." The blonde stated. Her silver eyes flashed but she took a breath and directed her attention towards the raven haired man who was still on his feet. His blonde friend jumped up to join his companion, and, feeling suddenly inferior, she stood up and dusted herself off carefully, speaking to them both.

"My name is Lyla." She finally settled her gaze back on the two and was startled to find that she was a bit taller than them.

"Lyla." The blonde seemed to try the name out on his tongue.

"Rogue." The other man replied with his own name at the same time. There was a few seconds of silence as Lyla stared expectantly at the blonde before she sighed in frustration. Her exhaustion and annoyance combined and drew out her sassy side, to her chagrin.

"I give you my highest gratitude, my knight in shining armor. May I be so esteemed to receive your name?" Feeling especially cocky, she even added in a curtsy. When she received no response, her fiery gaze shot back up to the two, who were standing there stupefied.

"Oh for the love of…" She stood up from her curtsy and placed two fingers on the bridge of her nose. "What the hell is your name, blondie?"

"Oh!" He finally seemed to break out of his funk, then smirked at the singer suavely. "Your knight in shining armor, Sting Eucliffe at your service!" He tried to bow low but smacked his head against the sound barrier again. "Ow!"

"Oh! I'm sorry, I thought that…" Lyla waved her hand and the spell dissolved. "Are you okay?"

"Fine!" He grinned up at her. "As if a little spell like that would be able to keep me down!" Her concern instantly dropped and she crossed her arms.

Then, suddenly realizing something, her eyes widened and she gasped, turning around and crouching low. The two men behind her exchanged glances.

"Artemis, wake up, you big lug!" She whispered, shaking her friend violently. The redhead muttered, brushing Lyla's hand off. The singer narrowed her eyes, a bit of the dragon in her sparking once again, easily brought out in her exhausted state.

"Down under in the sea, in a strange reality, the songs that pierce the air, we bellow without a glare!" She started softly singing the seaman's chant they learned the year before, one Lyla knew Artemis despised with all her heart. Sting and Rogue exchanged worried glances, seemingly worried for the woman's sanity. The redhead winced and twitched in her sleep.

"We hear the words and yell them out, we dance and sing and with no doubt…" Artemis's eyes shot open as the chant progressed, glaring at her sister of a friend. Lyla gave her an Artemis-like smirk and opened her mouth again to proceed to the chorus.

"Don't you dare-"

"That the mermaids shriek in the dead of night, out loud in air to give a great fright, if you don't behave, then you'll be lead straight into your watery grave!" She called out victoriously, enjoying the reaction she was receiving from the painter.

"You swore you would never speak those words again!" Artemis shrieked, tackling her friend onto the dusty earth, eliciting a laugh from the silver-eyed woman.

"Get offa me! We have an audience!"

"Hmm?" Artemis turned her gaze upwards from where she was lying on the ground and her eyes met the two bewildered dragon slayers. They blinked at each other for what seemed like forever.

"Who're you?" Artemis asked bluntly, hopping lightly to her feet. Lyla was right behind her.

"I'm Rogue, this is Sting." The dark haired man, Rogue, pointed to himself and to his partner Sting respectively.

"Mm." Artemis examined them silently, a serious expression on her face. They stared her down, her being shorter than the two, but she refused to back down, too stubborn to realize how much more powerful they were than her. Something was wrong, though, and Lyla could sense it. The light coming from Sting's hand never wavered and the only sound was that of the wind whistling through the trees. _No,_ Lyla suddenly thought. _There's something…_

"There." She pointed her finger to her right and there was a crash in the trees as something fell out of them. The other three startled and their gazes shot to where she was pointing. A groaning sounded from the brush and a figure was seen standing up with his head clutched in his hands. Artemis shot forwards instantly, springing towards the figure and reaching it within seconds, dragging it back with her and throwing the now visible man to the ground.

"Tell me. Were you in league with those two?" Artemis leered at the man, pointing towards his companions. She had assessed the situation and had already realized what had happened. To a point, anyway.

"N-n-no!" He stuttered out.

"Liar." She whipped out a blade and smashed the back of his head with the hilt of it. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell to the ground, where Artemis stood up and kicked him for good measure, sneering at the unconscious body. "Filthy thieves."

Sting and Rogue, only slightly impressed by the display, stayed silent. Well, Rogue did, anyhow.

"How did you know he was there?" Sting asked Lyla, desiring to learn her tricks. He was a bit perturbed that a simple mage such as her could notice something that he, Sting, the white dragon slayer, could not.

Her arm moved upwards and she tapped her right ear with the tip of her finger, explaining vocally a second later. "I heard him."

Unfortunately, that was not an adequate reason for Sting, since he already had enhanced hearing from his dragon slayer magic.

"Yeah, but how? He wasn't even moving," Sting argued. Rogue unnoticeably rolled his eyes next to Sting. Well, almost unnoticeably, since Artemis caught sight of the sign of scorn and held in a snicker.

"I heard the wind around him. And everyone is always moving," she expounded further. Sting growled under his breath, frustrated at being shown up by someone he did not know.

"Sting." Rogue suddenly spoke a warning syllable. The blonde turned towards his counterpart instantly, at abruptly at attention. "Have you not noticed her magical signature?"

Before anyone could comprehend or act upon Rogue's confusing words, Lyla spun at the sound of magic activating, but was too flustered to stop the tree branch from slamming into her. It knocked the breath out of her and she fought a failing battle, collapsing on the ground as the world faded in and out. She felt Artemis protectively holding onto her shoulder and heard the two men crouching before her. _No,_ she corrected. Only one man was crouching next to her, the other was… taking care of the lingering mage that had… hit her? Coherent thought started becoming harder and harder.

"Lyla, you're gonna be okay. Got it? I'll take you to a bed and you'll wake up comfy and warm, okay?" Artemis's voice echoed through her head. A tired smile crossed Lyla's face and she hoped that Artemis interpreted it as _I'm holding you to that._

And with that thought lingering, she surrendered herself to the tugging darkness.

* * *

 **Tbh I almost strangled myself for ending with the stereotypical knock-out scenario. But I rewrote the ending a couple times and I'm still not super happy with it, but it's something, right?**

 **Haha. I'm only convincing myself.**

 **Follow, favorite, review! Thanks to all for reviewing my story so far, it makes me almost squeal of happiness every time I see one!**

 **-Leaf**


	11. Surprise Initiation

Lyla was moving up and down slightly, and traveling forward at a relatively constant pace. She groaned and blinked open her eyes, barely grasping what was happening. She was tired, and she just wanted to melt into the cozy heater she was pressed against…

…

 _WAIT A MINUTE_

A startled gasp nearly jumped from her throat as she realized that she was hitching a ride on the back of someone who she desperately hoped was Artemis but knew that her friend had long red hair and not… oh god.

"You're awake!" An exuberant voice sounded from beneath her and she hesitantly glanced at the face of the person who was carrying her, her hands grasping their shoulders tightly. His gaze snapped up her hers for a second before focusing back on the road, almost falling while she was unconscious having taught him a thing or two.

"I'm awake…" She agreed eventually, unsure of how to react or what to do. "Where's Artemis?"

He laughed before answering. "She's back at the guild hall. Once she learned who we were she basically chucked you at me before sprinting towards guild. Rogue chased after her. Actually I forced him to."

Lyla groaned and placed her forehead on his shoulder, wanting to disappear. He laughed again, shifting her on his back a bit but continuing to trek onwards. He made it a dozen more steps in silence before speaking again. Being quiet never was his strong suit.

"So why were you in the forest?" He asked. Lyla contemplated his question and why she hadn't strong-armed her way off his back or why she hadn't even asked to be let down. Instead of confronting the latter topic she answered the former.

"We were traveling."

"Where?"

"Not sure. Just retracing old paths."

"Huh. Is Artemis a mage too?"

At this Lyla actually laughed, imagining her friend as a mage. She certainly would be a terror.

"No. She's just good with blades. Pretty good at freaking people out, too." She gained another laugh from her quip at Artemis. They were silent for only a few seconds before Lyla broke it.

"You can put me down now."

"Nah, I'm good," was his cheeky response. Lyla was not sure how to reply to that and stayed silent. Conflicting emotions flashed through her and for some reason her mind turned to Laxus, making her mood a little more sour.

"Where are we going?" She asked, maybe a bit sharper than needed.

"Sabertooth guild hall," he replied easily, misplacing her irritation and therefore overlooking it.

"Sabertooth? Isn't that the guild rising in fame and whatnot?" She mused to herself, thinking about the decline of Fairy Tail.

"Yup! We're the best guild in all of Fiore!" He pronounced, a wide grin on his face. "Especially now that Fairy Tail is old news-" Something twinged inside her.

"Please let me down," she interrupted. A startled expression overtook Sting's face, but he complied to her request. She settled on her feet then started forwards. Sting argued with himself internally before running after her, deciding to say nothing. He was Sting Eucliffe, he didn't have to apologize. Especially not to a stranger, no matter how cute she was…

They traveled on in silence, the only words passed between them being Sting giving the silver eyed woman her bag of musical instruments back. She had taken them with a small murmur of thanks, but said nothing after.

 _Laxus… are you still alive?_

Sting busted through the Sabertooth guild hall doors, grinning and talking loudly after such a long period of silence. The guild members sighed a bit when they saw the dragon slayer, but paused at the sight of the tall woman with a pack slung over her shoulders. Her eyes were lost in memories and her expression was blank, but she surveyed the room once she had entered it. Most the guild members scoffed, thinking that Sting had snagged himself a girl, while others thought a bit longer on the subject, bored and curious.

"Lyla!" Artemis came out of nowhere and hugged her friend around the shoulders. "I'm honestly creeped out by this place, but it's really interesting too." Then, louder, she proclaimed, "Wow, it's really great here!"

"'Course it is! It is Sabertooth, after all!" Sting grinned and threw his arm around Lyla's shoulders, causing the singer's figure to stiffen uncomfortably. Artemis's eyes flashed and the redhead stalked over to the blonde, jabbing him invisibly with the tip of a knife and leaning on her friend's shoulder once the dragon slayer had jumped away with a startled noise. He realized instantly what had happened but decided not to accuse the glaring woman.

Rogue, who had witnessed the whole event, suppressed a smirk.

"Let's show them the infamous hospitality of Sabertooth!" Sting suddenly cheered, wanting to get on the two's good side again. The surrounding mages muttered and glanced at each other in confusion.

"Are we known for hospitality?" one mage murmured, his companion shaking his head bewilderedly. "I wasn't aware of it."

"No, it's supposed to be the strongest guild, right?"

"It _is_ the strongest guild."

Similar conversations were being had across the room, but, not the one to be deterred, Sting swept the two away and ordered some workers (waitresses) to make them at home, flighting away to take care of some of his own business.

The two were instantly on guard, their former expressions of openness and joy gone in place of steely glares they had perfected in their friendship with Laxus. The waitresses had left searching for other customers.

"Mmm, so which one of you girls is Sting's?" A mage leaned over the table to leer in their faces.

"Neither." Lyla took a sip of her drink, subtly wrinkling her nose at it. The glass found its way back to the table and never lifted thereafter.

"Awe, you're just shy, aren't 'cha girlies?" The man laughed again and gained a few dirty looks from the other members. He waved them away, saying, "If Sting can have a little fun with them, who says I can't?"

Rogue appeared from the shadows. "I do."

The man sputtered and shrank away from the sight of the largely stronger mage. Before long, the man was out of their sights, and the two friend's relaxed slightly.

"I formally apologize for the treatment you lovely ladies are receiving," a foreign voice touched their ears and they assessed the new man standing before them: he had long blonde hair and a rather excessive hat with a mask to boot.

"Rufus," Rogue greeted, nodding his head towards the extravagant man. The man, Rufus, inclined his head politely towards the dragon slayer but made no other acknowledgement. "This is-"

"I'm Artemis, and this is Lyla," Artemis interrupted, standing and thrusting her hand forwards. Rufus examined her hand with disdain before delicately shaking it, letting go almost as swiftly as possible.

"Weakest handshake I've ever had. And that counts the children," the redhead muttered to her light-haired friend, who smiled at her words.

Sting jumped into the room suddenly, screaming, "SURPRISE INITIATION!"

The reaction was instantaneous. Sting himself leaped forwards and grabbed Artemis's arm, dragging her to the side of the room. Rufus and Rogue, along with most of the guild members, also crowded to the sides, leaving a single mage and Lyla, who was standing in bewilderment.

"It's my turn for initiation, babe!" the man guffawed to himself while Lyla scrutinized him. She had never seen him before in her life, but-

A sudden light broke her from her thoughts and she just barely dodged being crushed by a large… rock? No, it was more like a crystal of some sort. She let out a small " _eep!"_ when a pillar of the same crystal substance almost impaled her on the side.

"Gotta be quicker than that, babe!" The man brought his hand back up violently, a column of crystal bursting from the floor. Jeers and catcalls reached Lyla's ears and she narrowed her eyes, zeroing in on the man. The noise around her was annoying, and could also be used for energy…

"Whoa! What did you do?" the mage glanced about him, the noise suddenly muted. His guildmates were shouting just as loud as ever, but the sound seemed to fade by the time it reached the two battling in the middle. Lyla wiped her mouth. Her heart started picking up at a healthy rate instead of fluctuating from surprise. The man across from her didn't wait another second and enacted another spell, making two crystals appear out of the ground on either side of her that snapped shut. She just barely dodged it by rolling out of the way but came face-to-face with another rock, which smashed into her face. Luckily it had such little space to pick up speed or power that it didn't break anything, but her cheekbones ached and she felt a headache coming on.

Despite feeling suddenly dizzy, she stood up and faced her opponent. Honestly, she had no idea why she was fighting him. Self defence, really. And what did Sting mean by "Surprise initiation?"

"Ringing resonance!" A pale orange magic circle appeared before her, the spell rushing from her body towards the mage. He found himself surrounded with sound, vibrating his bones and teeth and reverberating through his muscle. He stiffened and clenched all of his muscles, a crystal pillar flying up beneath Lyla's feet. The spell dissipated as though it had never existed, though the mage Lyla was fighting now had ringing in his ears.

"Like that would be enough to defeat _me!_ " the man cackled, throwing up his arms. Dozens of tiny shards of crystal bathed in red light materialized around him, and, just as Lyla got to her feet again, sent them hurtling towards her.

Lyla's eyes widened at the sight of the fast-approaching shards, and she ducked behind a table. She made it in time to protect most of her body, but wasn't fast enough to stop a large sliver of crystal to slice across her right cheek. She stumbled the rest of the way to the floor in shock, holding a hand to her cheek and detecting the sticky warm feeling of blood smudge on her fingers. She brought her hand away and it was washed in red. _How…? I got cut?_

Lyla caught sight of her instrument's bag and she snatched it up, rifling through the (now enchanted) bag and drawing out a fiddle and bow. When she stood up from behind the table, the mystified expression on her opponent's face encouraged her to bring up the bow and play.

And play she did.

The bow flew across the strings, a jazzy tune with lots of shortstops and crunches flowing from the instrument. The man was merely shocked and in awe of her random yet amazing playing, but his eyes widened further when electricity started sparking at her feet. She played even harder, accelerating the rhythms she had already played, and the lightning flickered around her legs, and then her body, until she was a shining lightning rod.

The man stalked forwards a bit, knowing he had to win this battle no matter how good the song sounded, and shot a crystal cylinder straight through the instrument. The crystal crashed through the wood, splintering the fiddle into a million little pieces with a snapping noise. The sound cut off abruptly and Lyla gazed in shock at where her instrument had once been, now shattered on the ground. She stared, disbelief written on her face.

"Can't win if you can't make music, now can you, babe?" The man started cackling to himself.

Lyla blinked, then saw red, an unimaginable rage enveloping her body. She _loved_ that fiddle! Laxus basically _gave_ her that fiddle! And now… and now it was broken, in pieces, unfixable.

"It really is too bad, I-"

" _SHUT UP!_ " Lyla roared, swiveling on her heel and driving her fist into the man's face. The electricity, which had still been sparking around her body, conducted through her attack. The mage flew backwards from the anger and lighting of her punch, flying violently into a column.

Lyla was breathing heavily, anger flowing through her body. That instrument was _important!_ And he broke it like it was _nothing!_

The man stirred, struggling to his feet. Lyla stalked forward, approaching him and drawing out her metal flute at the same time. She reached him and dragged her arm up, glaring into the eyes of the crystal mage and smashing the metal onto his head with all her strength. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he dropped to the floor, stilling. Lyla stared at the dropped mage, and the past few minutes of what had just transpired seemed to dawn on her and she fell to her knees at the man's side, checking his pulse.

"Great job, Ly!" Sting laughed loudly, clapping a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened at the nickname.

"What the _hell_ was that?!" Artemis exploded, finally wrenching out of Rogue's tight grip. He had been holding her back from clobbering the assailant before Lyla had taken him out. Now she was beyond pissed.

"Surprise initiation!" Sting bubbled out, unable to properly read the situation.

" _Surprise ini…_ HOW, pray tell, does that involve a fight?" She acquired a deadly tone of voice.

"Well, how else would you be able to join the strongest guild of all time? By asking?" Sting snorted, as if this was preposterous. Miles away Macao sneezed: when asked by Wakaba what was wrong with him, he muttered something about mocking Fairy Tail again.

However, back at the Sabertooth guild, the gears in Artemis and Lyla's heads were turning.

"Join?" Lyla finally choked out.

"Well yeah!" Sting grinned. "Welcome to Sabertooth, Lyla!"

* * *

 **Pfft. _boi._**

 **Also to answer naes151's question, I made up that chant XD. With this I make up everything 'cause I'm lazy lmao**

 **lowkey doesn't have anything else written for this lmao let's see what happens**

 **Review, follow, favorite! Thanks to all who have reviewed so far, including naes151, kurahieiritr JIO, CrystalVixen93, rebecca taylor, Bubbles90, MusicalArtist185! Y'all are awesome!**

 **-Leaf**


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